This was a Daytona 24 Hours like no other. Not just for the racing, but for an extraordinary six hours and 33 minutes spent behind the safety car overnight as dense fog engulfed the circuit.
But even the whims of the weather could not derail Porsche Penske Motorsport's ambitions, as the #7 Porsche 963 of Julien Andlauer, Laurin Heinrich and Felipe Nasr emerged victorious. Nor did it deter the fans, with the organiser announcing a record attendance.
So who shone, and who fell short? Here are our winners and losers from the opening round of the 2026 IMSA SportsCar Championship season.
Daytona 24 Hours result
1 Andlauer / Heinrich / Nasr (Porsche #7) – 705 laps
2 Aitken / Bamber / Vesti / Zilisch (Cadillac #31) +1.569s
3 D Vanthoor / S van der Linde / Frijns / Rast (BMW #24) +21.386s
4 Estre / L Vanthoor / Campbell (Porsche #6) +31.822s
5 Van der Zande / Yelloly / Palou / Ohta (Acura #93) +45.677s
6 J Taylor / Delétraz / Herta (Cadillac #40) +54.017s
7 Van der Helm / Pino / Frederick (Porsche #85) +1m10.736s
8 Marciello / Eng / Wittmann / Magnussen (BMW #25) +1m13.443s
9 Blomqvist / Braun / Dixon / Allmendinger (Acura #60) +1m22.563s
10 Kurtz / Quinn / Sowery / Jakobsen (Oreca 07 #04) +19 laps (1st LMP2)
-
19 Verhagen / Hesse / Harper / De Phillippi (BMW M4 GT3 #1) +43 laps (1st GTD Pro)
-
27 Ward / Ellis / Dontje / Auer (Mercedes-AMG GT3 #57) +44 laps (1st GTD)
Winner: Porsche Penske Motorsport
For a long time, it looked like Porsche was heading for a dominant 1-2 finish. But the #6 car was compromised by contact, a puncture and an unproductive strategy, leaving it a distant fourth at the finish.
That barely dents the bigger picture. Porsche led 521 of 705 laps, 375 of them with the winning #7, and controlled the race despite a late Cadillac threat. Just like in 2024 and 2025, it was the #7 car that came out on top.
"Three Daytona wins in a row, every team dreams of such an achievement," said Porsche Motorsport vice-president Thomas Laudenbach.
"This outstanding victory is ours forever. It's an early cherry on the cake for our 75th motorsport anniversary and for Team Penske's 60th birthday."
With this result, Porsche Penske Motorsport joined Chip Ganassi Racing (2006-08) and Wayne Taylor Racing (2019-21) as the teams with the most consecutive Daytona victories. Thanks to the #7 963, Porsche also extended its all-time Daytona record to 21 wins.
Nasr joined an exclusive club by winning the race for a third consecutive year, following in the footsteps of Helio Castroneves (2021-23) and Peter Gregg (1973-76, with no race in 1974). For Andlauer, this marked his first IMSA victory of any kind, while Heinrich claimed his maiden win with the Porsche 963 in just his second race at the wheel.
Everything about this programme still looks ruthlessly efficient.
Loser: Acura
Having inherited pole position following the disqualification of the Cadillac #31, Acura was hoping for far more than fifth and ninth places. Yet at no point did the ARX-06s truly look capable of fighting for overall victory.
"Very disappointing result for us," said Tom Blomqvist, who finished ninth aboard the #60 entry. "We had pace at times, but we were so far out of position and then out of sync with the strategy, so we were always on the back foot. Relying on luck is never a nice thing in racing, and more often than not it doesn't work out.
"We did not understand what happened. For sure we have a lot of homework to do for the next races to understand these new tyres, which are not working so well on our car so far."
Its rivals, by contrast, already appear to have adapted far more effectively.
Winner: Action Express Racing (Cadillac)
If anyone was going to break Porsche, it was Action Express Racing.
The #31 Cadillac was Porsche Penske's only real challenger, just as it was at the end of last season. Jack Aitken threw everything at Nasr in a tense late duel, but couldn't quite force an opening.
"The Porsches were very strong all race," Aitken explained. "We came after them and tried to challenge as best we could. I got close a few times, but just didn't quite have enough to get the move done. Both Felipe and I were struggling with tyres in the heat - it was back and forth all the way.
"Unfortunately, we just fell a bit short, which is heartbreaking, but we put together a great run and I'm proud of that."
Still, second place confirms what Cadillac already suspected: the updated V-Series.R package is working, particularly in top speed. Momentum is building - and that couldn't be better timed with the Le Mans 24 Hours clearly on the horizon.
Loser: Wayne Taylor Racing (Cadillac)
Not all Cadillacs can be judged equally. Since reuniting with the manufacturer at the start of 2025, Wayne Taylor Racing has struggled in comparison with Action Express Racing, despite fielding two V-Series.Rs to AXR's one.
"We are naturally disappointed with our results," said team co-owner Wayne Taylor. "The #10 had a mechanical failure in the final hours, and the #40 was up against limited cautions and couldn't capitalise on track position [ending up sixth]."
The #10 was the only GTP car not to reach the chequered flag and the sister #40 wasn't trouble free either.
"I think sometime after midnight something broke at the back of the car - to be confirmed - but we lost a lot of pace," said #40 driver Louis Deletraz. "We were quite good on degradation, but when you're losing pace, you just don't have it."
Action Express Racing didn't have that problem. WTR needs answers quickly, starting at Sebring - a race it hasn't won since 2017.
Winner: BMW M Team WRT
In qualifying, the BMW M Hybrid V8s were 0.8s off pole, far too much for a prospective title contender. That prompted a concerted response from within the German camp.
"We tried several things during FP2 and FP3, and drivers and engineers did an incredible job to get the car into the right window, even though it's a new package," said BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos. "From the start of the race, the car was always competitive."
That unexpected resurgence allowed Dries Vanthoor to bring the #24 home in third. With a new technical package, new tyres and a new race team, the result was anything but insignificant.
"There are things to understand to know where this performance comes from," Roos added.
"Now we have to improve it even more because, in the end, a little bit was missing to fight for the win. We had a few penalties - but don't forget WRT is new to IMSA. These are things you can fix, and we definitely will."
Late in the race, BMW split strategies - as many others did - but the coin landed the wrong way for the already delayed #25, which ended up eighth.
Loser: Aston Martin THoR
Qualifying 1.341s off pole, the Aston Martin Valkyrie paid a heavy price for IMSA's desire to limit the impact of Balance of Performance. IMSA's reduced BoP intervention left Aston Martin just 5kg lighter than the Porsche 963 - compared to a 24kg advantage at Petit Le Mans last year, the final round of the season. The result was predictable.
The only LMH entry ran anonymously, then hit reliability trouble, finishing 31st and 44 laps down. A harsh reality check on its Daytona debut.
However, if the Automobil Club de l'Ouest and FIA follow a similar philosophy and adopt a less interventionist BoP approach, the British manufacturer may have genuine cause for concern.
Winner: The weather
Many still remember the 90-minute red flag that disrupted the 2019 Daytona 24 Hours. But that pales in comparison to what unfolded this weekend. Shortly before 10pm, cloud cover built over the circuit and fog began to roll in. The field continued largely unaffected until conditions worsened just before 1am, less than an hour before the halfway mark at 1.40am.
The seventh caution period was triggered at 12.15am and lasted until 7.18am due to persistent fog. At more than 6 hours and 33 minutes, it became the longest continuous caution period in the race's 64-year history, with 121 consecutive laps run at reduced speed.
It inevitably recalled the 4 hours and 26 minutes of stoppage that disrupted the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours. And, as is now increasingly the case, there was no red flag - the cars never stopped circulating.
"I've never been so bored behind the wheel," admitted Connor Zilisch, who spent four hours driving the #31 Cadillac behind the safety car. "But at the same time, we couldn't even see the 'World Center of Racing' sign [that sits across the main grandstand]."
