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The ROAR Before the 24 Daytona International Speedway

Report and photography by Mark Roden (of MRA Racing Images) and Mark Robertson

The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is one of the largest events that I regularly attend, second only to the Indianapolis 500. 2025 saw a slew of changes to teams and drivers, so before I get started with the ROAR report I will run through these updates.

Daytona International Speedway track map

The ROAR Before the 24 – Driver News

Pipo Derani, who last year won the GTP class championship in the #31 Cadillac, is now involved in the development of the Genesis LMDh car which should be ready by 2026. For this year’s race, he was able to join the DXDT racing team #36 Corvette GTD class for the 24 Hours of Daytona race.

Pipo Derani in the DXDT racing team at the Daytona 24 Hour

Wayne Taylor Racing switched to Cadillac; the #10 will be driven full-time by Filipe Albequerque and Ricky Taylor, and the #40 with Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor.

Wayne Taylor Racing at the Daytona 24 Hour

Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor driving the Cadillac at the Daytona 24

Meyer Shank Racing is back with Acura/Honda Racing Corporation after a one year absence, fielding the #60 with Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist, and the #93 with Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, Alex Palou and Kaku Ohta.

Meyer Shank Acura/Honda Racing Corporation

Acura/Honda Racing Corporation Dayton 24 Hour

The ROAR Before the 24 New Teams

New entry: Team THOR sport the Aston Martin Valkyrie, built to FIA Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) specs and the first such car to compete in an IMSA sanctioned event. Although set to go in 2025, it will not compete at Daytona but will be running at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Cadillac

Cadillac Whelan will now have Earl Bamber at the wheel of the Action Express Racing #31 machine along with Jack Aitken.

Porsche

Porsche Penske Motorsport have Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet at the controls of the #6 GTP Porsche 963, and Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy will pilot the #7.

Ford

The Ford Multimatic GTD PRO team saw 3 of 4 full time drivers switched out; Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Harry Tincknell have been replaced by Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch and Seb Priaulx.

Mike Rockenfeller will continue co-driving the #64 Ford Mustang GT3, while Harry Tincknell is rumored to be in the mix for a seat in the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH entry in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Ford Multimatic GTD PRO team at the ROAR before the 24

DragonSpeed is changing from GTD to GTD PRO for 2025, signing Alberto Costa, who was with Conquest Racing last year, as its first driver. Costa was the 2023 Le Mans winner in an LMP2.

The remaining driver lineup was announced on DragonSpeed’s Instagram page in December, placing Miguel Molina, Davide Rigon and Thomas Neubauer at the wheel along with Costa.

BMW

The Paul Miller Racing team has expanded to two cars, sporting a second BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the GTD PRO class. The cars will be driven by Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen, Connor de Phillippi and Kelvin van der Linde (#1 entry), and Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Jesse Krohn and Augusto Farfus (#48 entry).

Incidentally, Paul Miller Racing ran the #48 on their car up until 2021 then switched to #1, but was always a single car team until this year. Why have one when you can have two at twice the price?

The BMW M Motorsport GTP entries have had a shuffling of drivers, with Philipp Eng returning to the controls of the #24 BMW, co-driven by Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Maricello and Kevin Magnussen (Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta only).

The #25 will carry new drivers Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann, who moved over from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar class, along with Robin Frijns and René Rast.

BMW M Motorsport GTP at the ROAR before the 24

Iron Dames

The Iron Dames team added Karen Gaillard to the 2025 Rolex driver lineup alongside Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy.

This year they are sporting a Porsche 911 GT3R, decked out in a pink and white livery including hundreds of squares with dreams written on them. Illustrating the theme of “Every Dream Matters,” a slogan representing the partnership between the Iron Dames team and Porsche Motorsport.

ROAR before the 24 Porsche 911 GT3R Every Dream Matters

Lamborghini

The 2025 season lineup for the Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EV02 includes Marco Mapelli and Andrea Caldarelli as the two full-season drivers, adding James Hinchcliffe and Jordan Pepper for the Rolex 24 Hrs.

The ROAR Before the 24 Day 1 Friday. 17 January 2025

I arrived at the track around 2:45PM, just in time to find a place to park in the infield and get set up to shoot. I skipped the morning due to the hectic travelling that I endured the previous two days, and was really only interested in the Weathertech session along with the late afternoon VP Challenge session.

This being my 3rd ROAR Before the 24, I had some knowledge about where things were, and I knew my way around the track a little better this year. There were some spots that I hadn’t explored before.

The inside of the turn entering the road course from the superspeedway being one. You can’t get all the way in there, but you can get close without credentials) and the main grandstands outside the track. I had seats for the 500 in 2023, however, not for the 24 Hr race.

The ROAR Before the 24 Champions Club pass

This year, I was more organized, and I sprung for a Champions Club pass. If that sounds familiar, it should (if you have been keeping up with my reports). I purchased the Champions Club package for the Texas Nationals drag race toward the end of 2024. Daytona International Speedway offers a more premium version of this package, supplying me with a very choice infield parking spot in front of the unused garages, meals for most of the day, and it was a serve yourself arrangement, not a meal ticket.

The observation deck was at my disposal for race weekend (Saturday and Sunday only). For the ROAR, it wasn’t in effect, but as I had learned during the two prior years, things can be a bit lax in the first weekend. Because I had that golden ticket, I was allowed to park in the infield Lot 2A for the ROAR weekend, and once they saw my wrist ribbon and window sticker, I went wherever I wanted to go, within reason, of course

The ROAR Before the 24 Weathertech

For the Weathertech session, I drove straight for the bleacher seats on the exit of turn 5. Parking just behind them, I immediately climbed up to the top row. I had just come off “vacation mode,” and so I took the time to go through my camera settings. I checked that my gear was set up for a day of motorsport photography, such as minimum focusing distance and tracking set to ignore transient foreground objects (like poles and other photographers).

In addition to the photos, I have been interested lately in doing some video, which I did with my phone and a 3-axis gimbal. This is not something I will use for these reports, but eventually, they will show up on my MRA Racing Images website.

The ROAR Before the 24 Camera Equipment

As far as the camera, it was decent enough weather and lighting conditions to start right out with the big lens; a 100-400mm zoom with a 1.4x teleconverter on board, giving me a maximum reach of 570mm. This was more than enough to catch them coming down the straight out of the horseshoe and toward turn 5, through the turn, and back the other direction on their way to the end of the road course section of the track.

For me, it is a beast of a lens to hold and pan with, but that is what I have, and it works very well, as I can keep it steady. When I am closer to the fence and in lower lighting, I have my 200mm fixed focus f2.8 (no extender) and get really good shots, but I have to be careful with the focus on that lens; 2.8 is a paper-thin focal plane, and so if I don’t focus right on the spot I need, I risk getting a blurry shot, even if my pan action is perfect. But the lens is lighter, so after a full day of hulking that big one around, it’s a delight to use the 200mm late in the day.

Photographing the ROAR before the 24 weekend

The ROAR Before the 24 Session 2 – Weathertech Championship

I was excited to see these classes again. The last time I saw and photographed them was the 2024 Rolex, one year ago. There were some new entries and changes to some of the teams. Some drivers had moved about, but basically, it was as I had remembered them; lots of fast cars with bright colors.

Session 2 Fast Laps:

A little before the halfway point of the session, I slid over to the next set of bleachers, right at the exit of the road course. from here I was able to get a slightly different angle and lower vantage point due to the shorter fencing. I really hope they don’t decide to “fix” that, as so many venues seem to want to bubble-wrap everyone these days and block off all of the good spots.

The ROAR Before the 24 Practice 2 VP Racing Sportscar Challenge

This was the second year for the LMP3 class cars to be included in the running of the VP Challenge as the “P3” class, having moved from the Weathertech series for the 2024 season. The LMP3 class (now P3) provides young drivers and new teams a chance to get used to driving and operating prototype cars and is a stepping stone to progress toward LMP2 or GTP/Hypercars (IMSA/WEC).

The ROAR Before the 24 Rule Changes

The cars have undergone rule changes for 2025, including the move from the Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8, based on the engine used in various Nissan and Infinity production cars, to the twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre Toyota V35A, used in various Toyota and Lexus production models and capable of producing 420HP.

Almost all of the chassis raced this year at Daytona were the Ligier JS P320, which now has a successor called the P325 and can be built using an upgrade kit from the P320; however, none of those were present. One of the upgrades was a cooling system revamp to accommodate the new twin-turbo engines.

The ROAR Before the 24 New Cars

The very beautiful Duqueine D08 also has a successor, the D09 (also not present), and I have no information on it as of yet. Maybe something will come up before the Petit Le Mans, and I can share that with you later. Two D08’s were racing at the top of their class, piloted by Valentino Catalano and Markus Pommer for GEBHARDT Intralogistics Motorsports.

Another new car for 2025 is the ADESS AD25, successor to the ADESS 03 EVO, made by Portuguese manufacturer ADESS and tested at Estoril in 2024. Upgrades to this car were the new cooling kit, rear body kit, and new suspension dampers from KW. It seems as though this car is only set up to comply with Asian Le Mans, ELMS, and Le Mans Cup; however, it will be allowed if it can comply with IMSA regulations for P3.

This was the second practice of the day, although it was the first one for me. It started in late afternoon, around 5:20 p.m., and lasted for 40 minutes. This gave me a chance at some sunset pics of that class which I hadn’t been able to get in years past.

Fast Lap: 1:44.072 | Valentino Catalano | #30 Duqueine D08

Valentino Catalano Duqueine D08 ROAR before the 24

The ROAR Before the 24 Day 2 18th January 2025

I got started a bit earlier on Saturday, parking in the infield again. This time it was in the lot outside turn 4, behind the bleachers, in what would be the Porsche Corral on race weekend.

Before I even got to the fence I ran across a real jewel parked by the bleachers; the Russ Stoiber tribute car to the 1975 “Spirit of Sebring, a 700HP, 555 Cu In mammoth of a Corvette, which took him 47 years and over $50K to complete. It began life as one of the kits that John Greenwood sold to the public, and then was transformed into a grand racing machine by Russ once “life got out of the way”.

Spirit of Sebring, a 700HP, 555 Cu In mammoth of a Corvette

Russ stoiber’s tribute to the “Spirit of Sebring” Greenwood Wide-Body Corvette

The ROAR Before the 24 Session 3 Michelin Pilot Challenge

As enamoured as I was with the Greenwood ‘Vette, I made my way to the bleachers to start the day off with the Michelin Pilot Challenge session, already in progress.

The first photos were of the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR #31 driven by Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi. The #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo driven by Robin Liddell, Frank DePew and Andrew Davis.

These were not top contenders in the series but I really do like the look of that Aston Martin, with its deep irridescent green and bright racing red trim, one cannot help but admire it.

Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo

Top spot in the session was the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, driven by Daniel Morad and Bryce Ward, who is also co-owner of the team along with Russell Ward. The GT4 Mercedes is based on the Mercedes-AMG GT R Coupé production sports car, with a 544hp 4.0L V8 twin-turbo engine that produces 630nm of torque and also sports a sequential six-speed racing gearbox.

The Winward Racing team has been operating in Pasadena, Texas since 2016, transitioning to a new facility in Houston on Space Center Boulevard toward the end of last year.

Fast Lap: 2:01.759 | Morad/Ward | #57 Mercedes-AMG GT4

Morad/Ward Mercedes-AMG GT4 ROAR before the 24

Other noteable entries at the top of the session were the #28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS driven by Jan Heylen and Luca Mars (2nd), the #19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4 driven by Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe (3rd), and the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4 driven by Sam Paley and Jenson Altzman (4th). Session ended at 11AM, up next was the 3rd ROAR session for the Weathertech Championship series.

The ROAR Before the 24 Session 3 – Weathertech Championship.

I stayed in the same general area for the Weathertech session. This location has served me well and has a lot of versatility as far as shooting different angles is concerned. From this point throughout the two weekends I got some of my best panning shots, and a short walk up the fenceline produced some great front end shots as well.

This year I have been experimenting with doing photos that contain more context, not just the car on the track. Anything can add context and in the case of racing, things that show the curve of the turns, such as the curbing, and even discolorations in the pavement serve as indicators of speed and action. I also love bokeh, so any time that I can get that nice blur or heat disruption I will take it.

Session 3 Fast Laps:

The action was stopped for a bit and I took the opportunity to walk up the fenceline toward the Horseshoe turn to get some front end shots.

Once the session ended, I took off for the car to charge my cel, relax and get some food. I had plenty of time to mill around before the VP Race and get ready for the long evening.

The ROAR Before the 24 Race 1 of 2 – VP Racing SportsCar Challenge

The VP Challenge started it’s 2025 season with Race 1 at Daytona, sporting a new class, the GTDX class, and continuing to include the LMP3 (now called “P3”) and GSX classes. GTDX allows GT3 spec cars to participate in the challenge against the present P3 and GSX (GT4 spec cars), and offers more diversity in the field.

The grid saw 9 of these new GTDX cars including the Turner Motorsports twin BMW M4 GT3’s. Four Ferrari 296 GT3’s (2 under the AF Corse name and two more with Conquest Racing), another BMW M4 GT3 and a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) entries.

The Duqueine-heavy front row came down to take the green flag. As they did we could hear the roar as they hit the start of the road course and got into view heading toward the Horseshoe.

The first laps of the IMSA 2025 season were now unfolding, and within seconds the front runners were already gaining a gap and passing me as I clicked away. Catalano and Pommer kept the top two spots as Adam Adelson maintained top spot in GDTX. Kiko Porto held on to the GXS number one spot in his RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

About 30 minutes into the race I walked over to get some shots as the cars came back on to the superspeedway. I stayed there through to the end of the race.

VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 1 Results:

P1 Catalano, GEBHARDT Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 #30.
P2 Golan, Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P320 #80.
P3 Pommer, GEBHARDT Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08 #31.

Other top spots included Adam Adelson winning the first GTDX race (6th overall). Kiko Porto took the checkered in the GSX class (17th overall). Here are a few more photos from the race:

The ROAR Before the 24 Session 4 – Weathertech Championship

Weathertech’s session 4 began around 3 O’clock in the afternoon. I held my position for a little while and then walked over to the turn 5 bleachers for another perspective. At the time i thought rain may be coming, but it never did.

Session 4 Fast Laps:

At the end of the session i walked back to my car to get food again and recharge for the Weathertech night practice. I had been looking forward to it all weekend, thinking ahead to several spots along the track to capture this 2 hour session.

I decided to sit out the Michelin Challenge run to prepare. Robertson showed up somewhere in this time frame, so we caught up, hung around the cars for a while, grabbed a bite and then started thinking about cameras again.

The ROAR Before the 24 Session 5 – Weathertech Championship (Night Practice)

They rolled out a little before 6:30PM, and passed us in the “Kink” turn 4. As the opening laps unfolded I had several specific shots in mind for this night edition of practice. I started in the Kink and walking around to the end of the road course. Some of the shots I have taken in years past however, I always want to try and do better, especially with the glowing brake disc shots. I just love these and will take as many as i can get in a session.

The ROAR Before the 24 Night Session 5 Fast Laps:

Two things you don’t get to experience that often; racing in the rain, and racing at night. This was the one night practice session for the Weathertech series during the ROAR Before the 24 weekend. There is one night practice on Thursday during race weekend, after that the next laps booked in the dark will be on Saturday evening during the opening hours of the twice-around-the-clock race.

The ROAR Before the 24 Parting Shot:

The amazing Rexy with his new “24” gold tooth signifying the team and driver championships of 2024. This single tooth replaced 3 gold teeth from last year’s livery representing three race wins. Go rexy!

Thanks to Mark Roden (of MRA Racing Images) and Mark Robertson for this report from The ROAR Before the 24 at the Daytona International Speedway. You can see more of MRA Racing Images by following the links below.

MRA Racing Images

You can see extended portfolios of this and prior reports at my website: MRA Racing Images

Category: ROAR

The ROAR Before the 24