Third victory in a row for Porsche #7 – record number of spectators at the endurance classic
Daytona Beach, January 2026 – Porsche Penske Motorsport once again proved its class at the 64th 24 Hours of Daytona. The driver trio of Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich won the traditional endurance race with the #7 Porsche, celebrating the third Daytona victory in a row for the team and the car. At the finish, the lead over the second-placed Action Express Cadillac #31 was just 1.569 seconds.
For Nasr, it was his third Daytona success with the #7 Porsche, while Andlauer and Heinrich received the coveted Rolex watch for the overall victory for the first time. Porsche thus confirmed its role as favorite, but had to defend its success hard to the end.
At the start of the race, the Porsche 963 dominated the action and pulled away from the competition early on. However, several yellow flags repeatedly neutralized the lead. In the final third of the race at the latest, a thrilling three-way battle developed between Porsche, Cadillac and BMW, which was only decided on the home straight.
A one-two victory for Porsche was denied due to strategic circumstances. The second Penske Porsche #6 initially fell far behind after an unfortunate strategy decision during a late yellow phase. Although the car fought its way back to the front with a strong undercut, it had to settle for fourth place in the end. Earlier damage to the underbody had a noticeable effect on performance in the final stint.
WRT’s BMW #24 surprisingly finished on the podium, taking third place on its debut in the GTP class. Overall, the BMW M Hybrid V8s proved to be much more competitive than expected in the practice sessions. As a result, three different manufacturers finished on the overall podium.
Behind the leading teams, the Meyer-Shank-Acura #93 took fifth place. A total of nine cars in the GTP class were classified on the lead lap. However, the WTR Cadillac #10 retired around two hours before the end of the race after suffering engine damage.
The race was disappointing for Aston Martin. The only LMH prototype entered struggled with both technical problems and a lack of competitiveness and only finished tenth in the GTP classification.
The race was overshadowed by an exceptionally long interruption: due to dense fog, there was a yellow phase lasting over six and a half hours during the night – the longest in the history of the event. Despite these circumstances, the organizer set a new spectator record, but did not publish any concrete figures.
With a dramatic finish, strategic twists and turns and a new crowd record, the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona once again underlined its status as one of the most important endurance races in the world.