History at Daytona
This year's Rolex 24 schedule included a new event, the Historic Sportscar Racing IMSA Classic, that showcases sports car racing's iconic past.
When it comes to delivering memorable racing moments, the Rolex 24 rarely disappoints.
Even by the already lofty standards set by the previous 62 events, this year's race earned a few extra lines in sport car racing's history books.
Nick Tandy, co-driver of the Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 7 Porsche 963, bagged his first Daytona 24-hour overall win. That made him the first driver to finish first in each of the four most prestigious 24-hour sports car events: Le Mans, Nürburgring, Spa, and now Daytona.
Ford made history thanks to Multimatic Motorsports. Co-drivers Dennis Olsen, Frederic Vervisch, and Christopher Mies pushed their No. 65 Mustang GT3 to the GTD Pro class win--the model's first global victory in just its second season.
The wins by Tandy and the No. 65 Mustang will forever headline any recap of the 2025 Daytona 24--as they should. But in time, a race that took place just before the big show started may be remembered as another notable first.
This year's festivities included the inaugural Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) IMSA Classic.
Envisioned as an annual event, the Classic put historic IMSA cars on track for multiple practice sessions and qualifying during race week. The HSR program's highlight was an exhibition race just hours before the Rolex 24 started.
Rolex 24 week has featured static displays and pre-race parades of classic race cars before.
HSR's regular schedule includes a stop at Daytona. The 2024 event, the HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods held last fall, drew more than 140 competitors.
What the Classic offers is a chance for Rolex 24 attendees--a group that is growing exponentially as new fans discover one of motor racing's signature events--to see, hear, and feel some of IMSA's past.
HSR was founded in the mid-1970s with a simple mission: celebrate classic racing cars. IMSA bought HSR in 2022 and has been expanding the organization's offerings ever since, with the Classic serving as the latest example.
Unlike HSR's points-paying events, the Classic will focus on a specific IMSA era. This year's field represented cars from 1973-1993.
The starting grid wasn't exactly deep--only five cars took the green flag for the 30-minute main event. Six others, including two Porsche 962s and a pair of Roush Racing Ford Mustangs, made the trip but didn't start.
The low turnout was likely linked to the Classic's late addition to the 2025 calendar--IMSA and HSR formally announced it in early December. Despite the small car count, participants put on a memorable show.
A 1991 Mazda RX-7 GTO from the Mazda Heritage Collection took the overall and GT class titles, with Tom Long behind the wheel.
A Lola Corvette GTP took the prototype class. The car, driven by Scooter Gabel and prepared by Alegra Motorsports, represented GM's Chevy Corvette C4 factory team back in the IMSA Camel GT days of the mid- to late 1980s.
While the Classic recognized overall and class winners, the race was about the cars, not where they finished.
Jim Norman showed off his 1980 Porsche 935 K3--a car originally raced by team owner and media mogul Ted Field (Norman's paint scheme pays homage to Field's Interscope Racing team) and driven by Danny Ongais, Hurley Haywood and Bobby Rahal, among others.
“When I was a kid, I had a picture of this car on my wall, and now I own it,” Norman said.
Another Porsche ran a tribute livery--this one honoring a 1976 12 Hours of Sebring winner. Danny Stewart's 1973 911 looks just like the No. 67 Hav-A-Tampa Cigar Porsche that his mentor, renowned Porsche driver and mechanic Dave White, and former Florida state senator Dave McClain drove to a GT class win at Sebring 49 years ago.
“Everything is exactly the way the car was built,” said Stewart.
Craig Conway's 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC competed as well. His team got the red No. 79 machine ready in just two weeks to make the event, Conway said, adding that passing up the opportunity was never considered.
“[The Classic] is about representing the cars of the era, and those cars were a big part of the 1970s,” Conway said. "This gives the fans that haven't seen the old cars a chance to see them,” he continued.
“Hopefully it grows from here.”
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References
More than 140 teams at HSR Classic Daytona 24-hour: https://www.hsrrace.com/2024/11/04/milestone-10th-running-of-the-historic-sportscar-racing-hsr-classic-daytona-24-hour-presented-by-mission-foods-comes-to-a-competitive-conclusion/