Corvette leads the pack but falls short at Daytona

Alexander Sims in the # 3 Pratt & Miller Z06 GT3R Corvette won the pole in the GTD PRO class in the much-anticipated 60th running of the Daytona 24-hour race on January 24-25 2026.

Five (5) Corvettes in this epic race reflects the resurgence of sports car racing, rising to all-time high with IMSA under the leadership of John Doonan.

Sims, Antonio Garcia and Marvin Kirchhöfer ran with the leaders until the left rear suspension collapsed with 4 hours to go and after a six-hour holding pattern due to heavy fog.  They finished 13th in class after lengthy repairs.

The # 4 Pratt & Miller Z06 GT3R Corvette driven by Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone also ran up front but was pushed off-track by James Calado in the # 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO just after the final restart.  Catsburg fought back to finish 4th in GTD PRO.

Now known as team 13 (acquired from AWA), the # 13 Z06 GT3.R piloted by Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Ben Green earned 4th place in GTD. 

The # 36 DXDT Z06 GT3R Corvette piloted by Charlie Eastwood, Mason Filippi, Salih Yoluc and Scott McLaughlin (Aussie Indy Car driver for Penske) ran up front but the gearbox cracked with 2 hours to go that dropped them to 17th in GTD.

The # 81 Dragon Speed Z06 GT3R Corvette driven by Giacomo Altoé, Henrik Hedman, Casper Stevenson, Matteo Cairoli got hit by the # 73 Oreca LMP2 (ironically a Pratt & Miller entry) and finished 16th in GTD.

The # 1 Paul Miller BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Dan Harper, Connor DiPhilippi, Neal Verhagen and Marco Hesse won the GTD PRO class after starting last for an infraction in qualifying.

Doug Fehan with his enduring charisma was on hand at the Corvette Corral having served 23 years as GM manager for the now disbanded 2-car Corvette Racing Team.  Andrea Hidalgo is the third replacement to guide more than a dozen customers racing the Z06 GT3.R across the globe.

Corvette fans can take solace as the # 64 and # 65 GTD PRO Ford Mustangs blew up.

 Photo credits Richard Prince, Jake Galstad, Larry VanScoy