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In a chaotic qualifying session with a red flag and nearly a rare multicar crash, BMW backed up its impressive speed with the overall pole position for the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Team RLL BMW driver Dries Vanthoor turned a lap of 1 minute, 33.895 seconds around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course to qualify first in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8. Nick Yelloly qualified second (1:34.186) in the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06. Felipe Nasr, driving the No. 7 963 for defending winner Porsche Penske Motorsport was third (1:34.280).
It’s the first pole position for BMW in the Grand Touring Prototype hybrid category. The premier division began in 2023 and ushered in the LMDh era of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“Very happy, very nice,” Vanthoor told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee. “Again, I mean doesn’t mean so much. It’s a long race to go still, but yeah it’s great to start on pole. It’s the first pole for our program so very happy I got it done, but it’s still a long race to go so a lot can still happen, but it’s the best starting position we can get, so can’t get much more than that.”
BMW was the last manufacturer to announce plans to enter the GTP category and struggled through the past two seasons to match the results of Acura, Porsche and Cadillac. Team RLL BMW had managed one win in each of the past two seasons as BMW finished last among the manufacturers in the 2023-24 championship standings.
But since the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test last weekend at Daytona International Speedway, BMW consistently has been at the top of the speed charts as Vanthoor turned the fastest lap (1:35.424) over seven sessions last Friday through Sunday.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal said the team’s pace had fostered a “very positive, very calm” atmosphere internally.
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“Really, since the Roar this past weekend, it’s been a trouble-free week so far,” team owner Bobby Rahal told Lee before qualifying began. “The cars have been quick. Of course, that makes me all the more nervous when everything’s going so well. You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
It appeared it might have early in qualifying as a mechanical problem for Team RLL’s other car, the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8, brought out a red flag for 5 minutes (and negated any hope of BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde posting a lap time).
With only Mirko Bortolotti of the No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 having completed a lap before the stoppage, the GTP session became a scamble when the green flag waved with 6 minutes left.
Rolex 24 Roar recap: Results and what we learned at Daytona as BMW flashed impressive speed
BMW’s two entries were fast throughout the Roar before the Rolex 24 at Daytona test.
Vanthoor, who co-drives with Philipp Eng, Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen, captured the pole a minute after the checkered flag (having begun his final lap while still under green).
“It was quite tricky, especially to get the tire pressures up and the brakes to start the lap,” he said. “It’s not always been our strength, But it looks like we’ve been going well improving that quite well. And then it was just you know case of just getting a clean lap.”
That wasn’t the case for Tom Blomqvist, who held the fastest time entering the final minute and seemed ready to improve on his final lap in the No. 60 Acura. But the Meyer Shank Racing driver nearly collided Bortolotti while turning onto the backstretch. The action continued as Blomqvist and Bortolotti nearly made contact multiple times before the Le Mans Chicane.
“I had quite a big gap and obviously I was on quite a good lap and had such much better drive,” Blomqvist told NBC Sports’ Matt Yocum. “When I go to pass it in, he tries to squeeze me down. Yeah, I get it, he’s trying to protect his lap, but they’re 2 seconds off the pace. So yeah, it was unfortunate for both of us.
“I was in a bad position there with the track position. I had to make a split decision, the lap before, if I back off and hope that the last one’s OK or not. I’ve been burned so many times by not setting a lap and then hoping to get the last one and there’s been a red or whatever. So I made the decision there in that case, which was probably the wrong one. And then obviously I was hoping I could get by but he tried to squeeze me, and it’s qualifying. That (stuff) shouldn’t happen. It was just a bad position to be in from my position. We were a much faster car and unfortunately for him like he’s trying to do his job and then he tries to block me. I mean it would have been fine if he just let me go”
Blomqvist, who qualified sixth behind the No. 31 Cadillac of Jack Aitken (1:34.350) and the No. 85 Porsche of Gianmaria Burni (1:34.374), seemed poised to repeat his qualifying performance from 2023 when he turned a massive final lap to win the Rolex 24 pole (and also won the race in MSR’s most recent start at Daytona).
“So it’s just a shame the qualy for us, because I think we had a good car,” he said. “I think pole position was definitely up for grabs today. We were a bit one lap later than the others on the tires, so I had to really get them up to temp, so it wasn’t ideal. So obviously disappointing because I think the car definitely had a chance to fight for pole, but anyway, it’s a long race, so it’s just a bit of an ego thing right now. It’s not the end of the world, so we need to crack on, and we have a good race car.”
QUALIFYING: Click here for results l By class l Fastest lap by driver l Best sector times l Fastest lap sequence
Rahal and Vanthoor also were preaching patience, especially given that the cold temperatures that lowered speeds Thursday are expected to persist through the weekend.
“It’ll just be a new thing for everyone in the race to see how it goes in hot conditions, cold conditions and probably a lot of drama,” Vanthoor said.
Rolex 24 pole qualifying in other categories:
LMP2
Daniel Goldburg claimed the top spot for the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA LMP2 07, turning a lap of 1 minute, 38.676 seconds. Ben Keating, who is racing in both the LMP2 and GTD Pro categories, qualified second (1:39.00) in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA.
“It was pretty much right on target, but this is great,” Goldburg, who co-drives with Paul di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and James Allen, told NBC Sports’ Yocum. “I’ve been close to pole a whole bunch of times last year. Put a lot of work in on the offseason, a lot of work on in the Roar and the test back in November. The team, the boys put together an awesome car and just put it all together out there today.
“I’m really, really excited about this. I’ve been coming and watching this race for close to 20 years and competing. Long race ahead. So this is this is just one little notch. And now I got a great team, a great bunch of co drivers, and we’ll go to work on Saturday.”
Nick Boulle (1:39.203) was third in the No. 2, followed by Chris Cumming (1:39.217) and Steven Thomas (1:39.389).
GTD Pro
Ford Mustang GT3s swept the front row as Mike Rockenfeller turned a lap of 1 minute, 45.523 seconds in his No. 64 to top Multimatic Motorsports teammate Frederic Vercisch (1:45.855) in the No. 65. The Ford factory effort reshuffled its driving lineup after a lackluster return to the GT category last year.
“We were pushing really hard for sure the whole week,” Rockenfeller, who will co-drive with Sebastian Priaulx and NASCAR Cup driver Austin Cindric, told NBC Sports’ Lee. “I would say the Roar (test) already has been good. The Mustang was perfect, but we all know it’s a great place to be, but we really want to be (first) on Sunday, so now we just focus on the race. Qualifying is nice, and it’s nice to be here to get the attention, but nobody remembers that next week so it’s all about the race now.
“I think the car was running fantastic I got a really clean lap I think we did kind of a different strategy to everybody else on our side and that was paying off with these cold conditions. For us as a team, it means a lot because we really had a tough first year. We had some highlights clearly, but it’s normal when you come with a new car to one of the toughest championships in the world with the best competition out there So you can’t expect that you are right there from the beginning and I think in Year 2 now to show the pace in qualifying is amazing. Now we need to focus on the race.”
The top five was rounded out by Dan Harper (1:46.005) in the No. 48 BMW M4 GT3, Alexander Sims (1:46.012) in the No. 3 Corvette Zo6 GT3.R and Andrea Caldarelli (1:46.136) in the No. 9 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
GTD
With 4 minutes remaining, Elliott Skeer turned a lap of 1 minute, 46.634 seconds in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, nipping Philip Ellis (1:46.652) in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 that won the GTD championship last year.
“This is a race with a lot of unknowns, obviously, with the new (torque) sensors and everything we have in the car,” Skeen, who co-drives with Adam Adelson, , Tom Sargent, and Ayhancan Güven, told Yocum. “So to have a Porsche finally strong at Daytona again, feels great. As a team at Wright, we have put so much work into getting these sensors dialed, get the chassis dialed. And it takes a lot to put it all together. And ultimately, it was what I needed on the lap. Get lucky with a draft here or there and just hit my marks otherwise.
“Of course, It’s a 24-hour race. But what a good way to start the year by having our Wright motorsports for Porsche up front.”
Trent Hindman qualified third in the No. 45 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, followed by Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 and Franck Perera in the No. 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
The 63rd Rolex 24 will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25 on NBC and Peacock.
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