New Situations Impress Across Classes at Daytona Heading to Sebring
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The term “rookie” can take on many different meanings in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Perhaps it’s a driver new to sports car racing or returning to the arena after a lengthy absence. It could be IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver advancing to a full-time role. It may be a class shift, going from one of the WeatherTech Championship’s two prototype classes to one of its GT ranks, or vice versa. Or maybe it’s a team taking on a new car, driver and/or class.
All these scenarios were present in the opening round of the 2026 IMSA season, which happens also to be the biggest and most prestigious event in the WeatherTech Championship schedule: the Rolex 24 At Daytona. No pressure then! Yet drivers and teams in new situations and surroundings excelled in this year’s Rolex 24.
GTP Field’s Fresh Faces Factor up Front
The cars that finished first, second, and fourth overall and in the top Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class all featured a “rookie” element in their driver rosters. And third place was achieved by BMW in conjunction with a new IMSA partner team (BMW M Team WRT).
The winning No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 features Julien Andlauer, now in his first full season in the WeatherTech Championship after sporadic appearances since 2022, and Laurin Heinrich, the 2024 Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) champion making the jump to GTP for the first time. Teamed with three-time IMSA champion Felipe Nasr, they performed perfectly on the way to the victory.
“I’ve been back-and-forth in IMSA for a couple races, and I just love the atmosphere,” Andlauer said. “A full season is a first; I have a lot to learn about the races and some tracks I don’t know.”
Second-placed Cadillac Whelen featured Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber alongside the lesser experienced Frederik Vesti, starting his second season as the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup driver, and Connor Zilisch in his GTP debut.
“It was awesome just showing up and learning,” said the teenage phenom, the 2024 Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) Rolex 24 class winner. “I had a lot to learn and figure out at first. Come race time, I was pretty comfortable and could hold my own on the track. The guys took me under their wing and allowed me to learn from them. They didn’t shy away from helping me as much as they could, and that definitely made a difference. It was a challenge racing against the best in the world.”
Vesti admitted he felt much more prepared coming back for his sophomore season of WeatherTech competition than he did for his rookie campaign – which still netted victories in the TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
A schedule conflict for Bamber means the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is added to Vesti’s slate this year. The past Formula 2 race winner and Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 reserve driver will make his IMSA street track debut.
“Being a rookie is cool, but coming back the second time, feeling more confident is great,” he said. “Everything is easier and you can push a bit more. I’m quite excited to race! IMSA is very special and I love everything about it.”
BMW M Team WRT’s No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 (right) and the second Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, the No. 6 entry, aren’t “rookies” in the traditional sense but are in how their 2026 GTP programs are evolving.
WRT now has a podium in its IMSA GTP debut while the No. 6 car sees Kevin Estre set for a first full IMSA season alongside Laurens Vanthoor, a two-time IMSA champion with Porsche in GT classes (2019 in GT Le Mans, 2021 in GT Daytona).
JDC-Miller MotorSports’ No. 85 Porsche 963 was the other entry featuring a fresh face, with rookie Kaylen Frederick joining the young but experienced pair of Tijmen van der Helm and Nico Pino for a seventh place finished.
LMP2 had fewer first-timers of note. Era Motorsport had the most rookie-heavy entry with Rolex 24 debutantes Jacob Abel, Logan Sargeant and Naveen Rao sharing the No. 18 ORECA LMP2 07 with Ferdinand Habsburg. The car ended ninth in class.
Several Drivers, Teams Reset in GT Classes
Both GTD PRO and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) have their fair share of newcomers, none of whom shared the same path to the WeatherTech Championship.
Benjamin Pedersen climbed the open-wheel ladder all the way to IndyCar, where he completed a full season in 2023. He made his IMSA debut in ’25 running a full season in LMP2 and has now landed a plum drive in Vasser Sullivan Racing’s No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 he shares with Aaron Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo in GTD.
“Everyone loves IMSA right?” laughed Pedersen. “You see so many IndyCar and European guys come over. I loved being in LMP2 (with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports in 2025) and the opportunity came up with this team after a successful debut season. I found the transition to the GT car very natural. I mean, I’m still pretty new to the car, but I found the transition pretty seamless.”
Mason Filippi finished 17th at Daytona in GTD with co-drivers Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc, and Scott McLaughlin in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R. In addition, he’ll also seek to win the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Car (TCR) title aboard the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR with Bryson Morris; they ended third in Daytona. He’s gotten plenty of advice about his attempt to do double duty.
“People say eat a lot of food and try to get some rest!” Filippi smiled. “I think the biggest thing I’ve been told is to soak it in. I’m extremely grateful to have an opportunity in both. It’ll be cool to have track knowledge, a new car, new platform, and a new series.”
Porsche has two rookies of note. IMSA newcomer Harry King finished ninth on debut in GTD PRO in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) he shares with Nick Tandy and Alessio Picariello. IndyCar and WEC veteran Callum Ilott will share the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche in GTD with Adam Adelson and Tom Sargent.
Ford does too, with Ben Barker emulating Estre in embarking on his first full IMSA campaign in the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 in GTD PRO despite running most 2014 races. Jake Walker switches to Ford in GTD as part of Gradient Racing’s No. 66 Mustang, with multiple co-drivers switching between sprint and endurance races.
Aston Martin’s IMSA rookie is Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello, son of 11-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner and multiple-time Rolex 24 starter Rubens Barrichello. He’ll run the full GTD season in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.
Lamborghini has a new full-season driver, Sandy Mitchell, joining Andrea Caldarelli in Lamborghini’s new car – the new Temerario GT3 that Pfaff Motorsports will debut at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Meanwhile, the 2026 season marks a complete reset for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, rebranded as RLL Team McLaren in IMSA. After a long relationship with BMW, Bobby Rahal’s sports car operation has rebranded as RLL Team McLaren to field the No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO in the GTD PRO class with a pair of absolute sports car rookies in Max Esterson and Nikita Johnson for the full season.
Esterson is coming home to America at age 23 after a single-seat career that took him as far as Formula 2, while 17-year-old Johnson is combining his IMSA schedule with an assault on the Indy NXT championship. Third driver Dean MacDonald impressed on debut to put the No. 59 McLaren second on the GTD PRO grid in Daytona, with fourth driver Juri Vips also a Rolex 24 rookie.
“It’s extremely new and I can’t think Team RLL enough for helping me come to grips with the car,” Johnson said after a 12th-place class finish in the No. 59 McLaren’s debut. “They drive really different. It’s a nice challenge, and I really wouldn’t have believed this five years ago.”
Esterson tested the sports car waters by sharing the aforementioned JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 85 Porsche 963 in the 2025 IMSA season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
“It was huge to do Petit Le Mans, and it went quite well for my first race,” he said. “I wanted to do IMSA this year and I think GT3 makes the most sense. It’s the class with the most cars running worldwide.”
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 74th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 18-21 at Sebring International Raceway.