Written by Owen Bradley
The 63rd running of the IMSA Daytona 24 Hours takes place this weekend. In this article, you can find out where to watch the event, the race start time and an overall preview of IMSA's flagship event, and the event which really kickstarts the racing season.

Featuring 14 Ex-F1 drivers, including the recently-departed Kevin Magnussen, 2008-runner up and ex-Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, 2024 IMSA Drivers' Champion and ex-Sauber driver Felipe Nasr, as well as many other familiar names like Romain Grosjean, Kamui Kobayashi and Daniil Kvyat - The opening round of the 2025 IMSA Championship is sure to be a great spectacle across all classes, with many IndyCar and Formula E drivers also stepping into GTP, LMP2 and GTD cars this weekend.
The Daytona International Circuit
The 24-hour race will run at the iconic 3.56 Mile Daytona circuit in Florida, using the Sportscar layout, as cars run towards the infield, rather than the full oval circuit that NASCAR use.
Just 12 corners make up the Daytona International Speedway, a tough left-hander opens up the lap, coming down from the banking and cutting sharp into the first corner. This will likely be an overtaking hotspot, and also a place on track where we are likely to see some crashes.
Followed by the fast Turn 2 and kink heading into Turn 3, the track narrows with the pit lane on the left-side of the drivers going into Turn 3. This section usually gets incredibly busy late in the race, as multiple classes come together and create a lapped-traffic mess. Therefore, expect to see some drivers taking bold risks in order to avoid the traffic in this area of the track.
After the slow right-hander of Turn 3, the cars get back to full throttle, with a flat out Turn 4 leading to a medium-heavy braking zone at Turn 5, a tough right-hand corner and a corner which helps set up battling cars for the return to the oval in just one corners' time.

A long left-hand Turn 6 leads the drivers back onto the oval for turns 7 and 8, with drivers likely to follow close behind one another in the slipstream, in order to get the best run to the bus stop chicane, for Turns 9 and 10. A quick dab of the brakes for the GTP cars and fast navigation of the chicane leads the drivers back out onto the oval as they drive flat-out to the flag.
One important note, is that the kerbs have been changed at the bus stop chicane, making it slightly harsher if a car runs over them, with some drivers actually fearing potential damage to the cars.
With a highly competitive field, multiple competitive manufacturers, a high-speed thriller certainly awaits us in Daytona this weekend.
Kevin Magnussen's debut with BMW

The Danish F1 podium-sitter left Haas at the end of 2024 and joins BMW for their World Endurance Championship and IMSA Endurance campaigns in 2025. K-Mag has started the 2025 season in perfect fashion, with teammate Dries Vanthoor putting the No.24 BMW on pole position for the Daytona 24 Hours on Thursday.
This of course won't be Magnussen's first time racing GTP cars, or his first time racing in the IMSA championship. After Magnussen left F1 at the end of 2020, he spent the 2021 season racing for Cadillac in IMSA. Scoring five podiums and taking a victory in Detroit, Magnussen certainly boasts an impressive record in just one season of racing in the championship. Now a full-time Sportscar driver, Magnussen will be seeking to shape the BMW team into a championship-winning team this year.
Ex-F1 drivers, IndyCar and Formula E drivers contend star-studded Daytona 24 Hours
The Daytona 24 Hours features an incredibly talented grid featuring many familiar faces from Formula One, IndyCar and Formula E, as well as other familiar faces from the WEC and GT racing paddocks as well.

From Formula One, in the GTP class there is: Felipe Nasr (No.7 Porsche), Will Stevens (No.10 Cadillac), Brendon Hartley (No.10 Cadillac), Kevin Magnussen (No.24 BMW), Jack Aitken (No.31 Cadillac), Kamui Kobayashi (No.40 Cadillac), Romain Grosjean (No.63 Lamborghini), Daniil Kvyat (No.63 Lamborghini), Pascal Wehrlein (No.85 Porsche), Gianmaria Bruni (No.85 Porsche)
In LMP2, there are more F1 alumni such as: Sebastien Bourdais (No.8 Tower Motorsports), Paul di Resta (No.22 United Autosports), Pietro Fittipaldi (No.73 Pratt Miller Motorsports) and Felipe Massa (No.74 Riley).
From the IndyCar paddock, there are drivers across all classes, such as: Kyle Kirkwood (No.14 Vasser Sullivan LMP2), Alex Palou (No.93 Acura), Felix Rosenqvist (No.60 Acura), Scott Dixon (No.60 Acura), Callum Ilott (No.73 Pratt Miller Motorsports LMP2), Colton Herta (No.04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR), Christian Rasmussen (No.99 AO Racing) and Scott McLaughlin (No.91 Trackhouse by TF Sport).
From the Formula E paddock, aside from reigning World Champion Pascal Wehrlein, there is: Robin Frijns (No.25 BMW), Rene Rast (No.25 BMW), Alex Lynn (No.40 Cadillac), Edoardo Mortara (No.63 Lamborghini) and Alexander Sims (No.3 Corvette GTD Pro).
Starting Grid - GTP
1st No.24 BMW, Magnussen, D. Vanthoor, Marciello, Eng
2nd No.93 Acura, Ohta, Palou, Yelloly, van der Zande
3rd No.7 Porsche Penske, Nasr, L. Vanthoor, Tandy
4th No.31 Cadillac, Bamber, Drugovich, Vesti, Aitken
5th No.85 Porsche, Bruni, Aron, Wehrlein, van der Helm
6th No.60 Acura, F. Rosenqvist, Dixon, Braun, Blomqvist
7th No.10 Cadillac, Hartley, Stevens, Albuquerque, R.Taylor
8th No.40 Cadillac, Kobayashi, Lynn, Deletraz, J.Taylor
9th No.63 Lamborghini, Mortara, Kvyat, Grosjean, Bortolotti
10th No.6 Porsche Penske, Estre, Campbell, Jaminet
Starting Grid - LMP2
1st No.22 United Autosports, Di Resta, Allen, Lindh, Goldburg
2nd No.52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, Beche, Pederson, Keating, Sales
3rd No.2 United Autosports, Jarvis, Hanley, Patterson, Boulle
4th No.73 Pratt Miller, Cumming, Ilott, Roe, Fittipaldi
5th No.11 TDS Racing, Milesi, McElrea, Jensen, Steven
6th No.99 AO Racing, Rasmussen, Edgar, Cameron, Hyett
7th No.88 AF Corse, Vaxiviere, Nielsen, Dylan, Perez Companc
8th No.04 Crowdstrike by APR, Herta, Sowery, Jakobsen, Kurtz
9th No.43 Inter Europol, Da Costa, Garg, Field, Dillmann
10th No.18 Era Motorsport, Lutke, Dalziel, Hansson, Chatin
11th No.8 Tower Motorsports, Bourdais, Farano, Alvarez, Van Uitert
Full starting grid for GTD Pro and GTD can be found on the IMSA website.
Where to Watch?
The Daytona 24 Hours will be broadcasted via IMSATV for those in the UK and beyond, as well as a free-to-view YouTube stream as well.
For American viewers, Peacock will be broadcasting the race.
Race Time
The race begins at 6:40pm on Saturday for viewers in the UK, and finishes at 6:40pm on Sunday. The race begins at 1:40pm ET locally.
Owen's Predictions!
I am predicting an incredible, chaos and action-filled race to really kick off the motorsport season, featuring battles between F1, IndyCar and Formula E alumni across both GTP and LMP2.
I think that the No.24 BMW team will take victory in the GTP class, with Magnussen kicking off his 2025 Endurance campaign with a victory. In LMP2, I have gone with the No.74 Riley car taking victory, as last year Felipe Massa cut through the field like a hot knife through butter before the team ran into some problems midway through the race. In GTD Pro, I have gone with the No.91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette, as Shane van Gisbergen, Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin and Connor Zilisch will be a strong team to beat.
For the GTD class, I have gone with the all-Italian team of No.47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari, with big names in the GT world at the wheel, like Lorenzo Patrese, Antonio Fuoco, Roberto and Nicola Lacorte.

Watch out for Safety Cars, Full Course Yellow's and high speed action, because Daytona never Disappoints.
DIVEBOMB Motorsport will also be running a LIVE Daytona 24 Hours 2025 article detailing all of the action throughout the entire 24 hours, so stay here for all the updates, news and action on race day!
Kommentare