Porsche Penske Motorsport targets third consecutive win at 24 Hours of Daytona as 2026 IMSA season gets underway

The 2026 24 Hours of Daytona will be extra special for both Porsche Motorsport and Team Penske, as each celebrates a huge milestone in its history.

Porsche Motorsport will mark its 75th anniversary in 2026, with the team racing for its third win in a row at Daytona International Speedway, the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Team Penske is also celebrating 60 years since its first race, when Roger Penske Racing debuted at the very same race with a category winning Corvette in 1966. This was Roger Penske's first race as a team owner.

For Team Penske, this season will mark six-decades of excellence, evolving from a small sports car operation into one of the most successful teams in racing history.

The team debuted at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona just a few months after Penske retired as a racing driver himself, stepping away from the wheel to focus his attention on growing his business initiatives.

That year was the first time the race ran for 24 hours, to match the 24 Hours of Le Mans, having been expanded to 2,000 kilometres / 1,240 miles two years earlier.

The team raced a Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray coupé and won its category, marking the beginning of what would become a stunning journey to the top of motorsport.

A new season begins

Porsche Penske Motorsport will be fighting for its third consecutive win at this year’s edition of the Floridian endurance classic, taking place on January 24-25.

After winning all championship titles in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the factory team will again be the team to beat next season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

With victories from the #7 car in both 2024 and 2025, can the team make it three in a row?

Taking place at the iconic Daytona International Speedway on the Florida coast, the IMSA season opener will be preceded by the Roar Before the 24 - the traditional pre-event test, taking place on January 17 and 18.

The race marks the opening round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with the top class of GTP cars taking part in nine races.

The 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona will get underway at 1:40pm local time / 7:40pm CET on January 24.

Follow all the action on our bespoke event page here.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver line-ups

The team will field two new line-ups in the GTP class of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor will move across from the World Endurance Championship to take the wheel of the #6 car, and will be joined by reigning IMSA champion Matt Campbell for the season opener.

Estre and Vanthoor are well-acquainted with each other, having shared the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car in the World Endurance Championship for the past three seasons.

Campbell has also driven with the pair previously, taking part in select WEC rounds in 2025. He has a wealth of IMSA experience, and won the drivers’ title in 2025 with Mathieu Jaminet.

The #7 sister car will be shared by Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer, with newly promoted Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich alongside them for the endurance rounds.

Nasr, the 2024 IMSA drivers’ champion, will welcome Andlauer from the WEC, where he drove for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the #5 car in 2025. Heinrich is new to the team, having been promoted from Porsche customer team AO Racing in the GTD Pro class.

Customer racing

The US customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports will be back on the grid in 2026 with a Porsche 963. The team joined the GTP class in 2023, running one entry in the top class.

The #85 car will be driven by Bryce Aron, Nico Pino and Tijmen van der Helm.

In the GT classes, AO Racing, Wright Motorsports and Manthey will all field Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).

AO Racing will once again run Rexy, sporting its famous green dinosaur livery, in the full-season GTD PRO class #77 entry.

The 2024 champions welcome Nick Tandy and Harry King as full-season drivers, with Alessio Picariello returning for the five endurance events.

For Manthey’s maiden IMSA campaign, the team will field cars in both GTD Pro and GTD.

In the GTD Pro class, the Grello Porsche (#911) will be competing with Klaus Bachler, Ricardo Feller and Thomas Preining at the wheel.

Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Morris Schuring will pilot the 1st Phorm #912 car, which will be entered in the GTD class, with Lietz joining the trio for the season opener in Daytona.

Read more about the team’s first IMSA campaign and its fantastic 2025 season here.

Wright Motorsports will run one Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) in the GTD class. The #120 entry will be shared by Adam Adelson, Callum Ilott, Tom Sargent, and Elliott Skeer.