A Full Field and a Few Surprises Among the Entries for the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona

IMSA, the sanctioning body for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, has released a preliminary entry list for the 63rd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona, the opening race for the IMSA series season. It’s a full field of 61 cars—that’s all IMSA can squeeze into the available pit space at the Daytona International Speedway, and the list contains a few surprises and a lot of international star power. To see the full list, click here.

First, though, if you aren’t entirely familiar with the classes of cars that will be racing at Daytona, here’s a quick primer: The top, fastest class is GTP, featuring cars built from scratch and not intended to look like any road-going vehicle. They use engines based on ones the individual manufacturer sells and are a mix of six- and eight-cylinder configurations. There are 12 GTP cars on the entry list, the most ever.

The next-fastest class is called LMP2. Once considered a training ground for future GTP drivers, the LMP2 class has really come into its own this year after nearly being pronounced dead just a few years ago. There are also 12 LMP2 cars, and some of the drivers are among the best in the world. The LMP2 cars look a lot like the GTP cars, but they all use the same engine—a British-built Gibson V-8—and the same chassis, manufactured by Oreca. The driver lineup for each LMP2 car must have some amateur drivers.

The remaining two classes of cars are based on the global GT3 rules, meaning they are eligible to race in dozens of series around the world. While the cars are identical, IMSA divides its GT3 cars into two classes, GT Daytona and GT Daytona Pro. GT Daytona cars must have some amateur drivers, while a GTD Pro car can be driven by all professionals. All the GTD cars are based on street-legal models that the manufacturer sells, and they are powered by a racing version of whatever engine comes in that car. There are 22 GTD entries and 15 GTD Pro entries, and manufacturers include Porsche, BMW, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, Lexus, Ford, Chevrolet, and Aston Martin.

So how does IMSA classify who is a pro driver, and who is an amateur? The sanctioning body relies mostly on its overseas counterpart, the FIA World Endurance Championship, to rate drivers at one of four levels, typically depending on experience and performance. The top professionals are rated P, for Platinum. Next is G, for Gold; these are experienced professional drivers one rung down from Platinum. S, or Silver drivers, could be pros on their way up, or in some cases, down, but many are considered amateurs. The last classification is B, for Bronze. They are amateur drivers who often pay to race the car and are usually teamed with more experienced drivers.

Here is a list the FIA maintains for rating thousands of drivers around the world, the vast majority of whom you’ve never heard of.

And here is the FIA’s explanation of how it classifies drivers. Aside from performance and experience, age often plays a part in the rankings; a driver 60 or over, for example, is rated bronze regardless of career success. Bronze drivers aren’t expected to drive as fast as professionals; their job during the race is usually to not crash and try to stay on the lead lap.

That’s how IMSA and the Rolex 24 work: Now let’s take a quick look at notable drivers, teams and cars on the entry list.

GTP: The 2024 winner, the No. 7 Penske Porsche, returns with only one of the drivers, Felipe Nasr. He’s joined by Nicky Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor from Penske’s other car, the No. 6, which finished fourth. Gone completely from the lineup is Penske’s only American driver, Dane Cameron. The fastest qualifier for the 2024 race, Pipo Derani, is missing from the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen entry, replaced by former Porsche driver Earl Bamber. Back are two Meyer Shank Racing Acuras, with six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon in one car, three-time IndyCar champ Alex Palou in the other. Making its Daytona debut is Lamborghini’s SC63 GTP car, with a driver lineup that includes former F1 racer Romain Grosjean. And Wayne Taylor Racing is running two Cadillacs, with Taylor’s son Ricky in one car, son Jordan in the other. Gone entirely is longtime competitor and past winner Chip Ganassi Racing.

LMP2: Some drivers you’d think would be racing in GTP are in LMP2, including Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 8 car, and IndyCar’s Colton Herta in the No. 04. The No. 18 Era Motorsports car that won in 2024 is back, led by former overall winner Ryan Dalziel. Felipe Massa, who competed in Formula 1 from 2002 to 2017, is part of the 74 Ranch Riley team. Pratt Miller Motorsports, known for their Chevrolet Corvette success, is debuting an LMP2 car with a driver lineup that includes Pietro Fittipaldi and Callum Ilott. And Dane Cameron, part of the 2024 IMSA championship Porsche Penske team, found a ride for the Rolex 24 in the No. 99 AO Motorsports car.

GT DAYTONA PRO: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports has a two-car team, one led by Antonio Garcia, the other by Tommy Milner. Pfaff Motorsports has moved from McLaren to Lamborghini, with a lineup that includes former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe. Multimatic Motorsports has a pair of Ford Mustangs entered; the 2024 winner, the Risi Competizione Ferrari, is sitting this one out. Making its sports car debut is the Trackhouse Racing Corvette; Trackhouse is best known for its NASCAR Cup teams. Driving for Trackhouse are two New Zealanders, NASCAR’s Shane van Gisbergen and IndyCar’s Scott McLaughlin. Veteran gentleman driver and Texas car dealer Ben Keating is part of the team, and he also has a ride in the No. 52 LMP2 car, as Keating likes to stay busy. And 18-year-old Trans Am phenom Connor Zilisch completes the lineup.

GT DAYTONA: The aforementioned Pipo Derani, who has a ride with the new Genesis GTP team for 2026 and will be testing the new car in 2025, is back in the Rolex 24 as part of the No. 36 DXDT Corvette team. Joey Hand, until this year a Ford factory driver, is racing the No. 66 Gradient Racing Mustang. And the 2024 class winner, the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG car.

The 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona takes the green flag on Saturday, January 25th, preceded by the open-to-the-public test, the Roar Before the Rolex, set for January 17-19.