The 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona will feature a full grid of 61 cars, with no less than seven Kiwis taking part in the famed North American race.
The field for the January 23-25 event is comprised of 12 GTP Hypercars, 12 LMP2 entries, 15 GTD Pro, and 22 GTD.
Brendon Hartley, Scott Dixon, Earl Bamber, and Tom Blomqvist star in the GTP class, which is comprised of five manufacturers, being Porsche, BMW, Lamborghini, Acura, and Cadillac.
Hartley joins Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing in the #10 Cadillac V-Series.R for the third consecutive year, but the first in a Cadillac, following two attempts in an Acura ARX-05. He partners Ricky Taylor, Felipe Albuquerque, and Will Stevens in 2025, looking to go one better than his 2023 runner-up result.
Bamber, too, will compete in a Cadillac V-Series.R, joining Jack Aitken, Frederik Vesti, and Felipe Drugovich at Action Express Racing. Bamber has never finished on the podium in the Hypercar class in the race, coming closest in 2023 when he drove to fourth with Cadillac Racing.
Dixon and Blomqvist, meanwhile, join forces at Meyer Shank Racing to drive an Acura ARX-06 with Colin Braun and Felix Rosenqvist. Dixon won the 2020 race in the Hypercar class, while Blomqvist, who races under the British flag, won in 2022, 2023, and was runner-up in 2024.
In LMP2, Hunter McElrea returns to TDS Racing, partnering Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen and Charles Milesi in the #11 Oreca 07-Gibson.
In the GTD Pro class, Kiwi stars Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen join forces at Trackhouse by TF Sport to drive a Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The duo are joined by Ben Keating and Connor Zilisch in a blockbuster driving lineup expected to challenge towards the front of the class.
With a number of teams yet to finalise their driver lineups in the GT classes, further Kiwi presence is possible for the race.
Teams will first take to the track on the Daytona Road Course with the ‘Roar Before the 24’ test on January 17-19, one week ahead of the IMSA season-opener.
The 2024 IMSA season was shown on Sky TV in New Zealand, with broadcasting details for the 2025 event to be revealed in due course.
Header Image: Chris Owens/ Penske Entertainment
