Three talking points from the incredible 2023 Daytona 24

Hat-tricks for Acura and Castroneves

History was in the Florida air as the new LMDh prototypes took their global bow, as the Daytona 24 Hours ushered in the much-vaunted return of Porsche and BMW to sports car racing’s premier division. But while both German giants played their part in another great January classic, the story at the sharp end revolved around Acura versus Cadillac – just as it had during the previous DPi era. And it was Honda’s American Acura brand that had the edge as it claimed a resounding third consecutive victory at the Daytona 24.

Meyer Shank Racing had a clear edge on pace with its ARX-06 as the team claimed a second consecutive victory at the race, with Tom Blomqvist leading the charge from pole position. He was joined by French IndyCar ace Simon Pagenaud, rising US endurance star Colin Braun and the ever-green Helio Castroneves, who continues to enjoy a bountiful Indian summer to his long career – at 47 years old. Remarkably, this was Castroneves’ third consecutive Daytona victory, to continue a winning streak that also includes a record-equalling fourth Indianapolis 500 win in 2021.

“I can’t wait for 2024!” he said with a big smile after leading the whole team in his signature fence-climbing celebration. “Tom did an amazing job, Simon did an amazing job. To build this programme in a short minute, I can’t believe we have both cars in first and second.”

Wayne Taylor Racing’s first race in partnership with Andretti Autosport was predictably strong. But the team, which delivered Acura the first of its Daytona wins in 2021, didn’t quite have the pace to challenge its Acura sister from Meyer Shank. At least Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley, Ricky Taylor and Louis Deletraz had enough to defeat the two Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillacs and the Whelen Engineering entry, as the American brand scored a 3-4-5.

BMW’s new M Hybrid V8 lacked ultimate pace, but the #24 entry helmed by Philipp Eng at least managed a solid sixth place. As for Porsche, its new 963 was absolutely in the mix on speed and even led the race, only for trouble to catch up with both entries. One lost 35 laps to a battery change, the other expired in a cloud of engine smoke in the closing stages with Nick Tandy at the wheel, after the Englishman had suffered a spin earlier on.

LMP2: greatest-ever 24-hour finish?

As Blomqvist celebrated victory overall, the secondary LMP2 division stole some of Acura’s thunder thanks to an astounding finish – surely a contender for the greatest ever seen in a 24-hour race. In the final laps Australian James Allen, in Proton Competition’s ORECA, closed in on Brit Ben Hanley in the Crowdstrike entry.

On to the last lap, the pair were side by side into Turn 1 with Hanley just maintaining his advantage on the inside line. But as they approach the finish on the famous banking, Allen got a great run on the outside and nosed just ahead as they crossed the line to snatch the victory – by 0.016sec. Breathless stuff.

Glory for Aston and Darren Turner

Beyond the prototype divisions, Aston Martin claimed a stunning achievement in GT. The Heart of Racing Vantage GT3 pulled off the feat of not only winning the GTD class, but also beat the best of the GTD Pro entries for good measure. Platinum-grade Marco Sørenson helmed the fantastic team effort, joined by long-time Goodwood favourite Darren Turner, who finally added a Rolex Daytona watch to his collection of accolades to go along with his three GT Le Mans wins.

The pair were joined by silver-graded drivers Roman de Angelis and British expat – and long-time Daytona regular – Ian James, for a well-deserved and hard-earned victory. Remarkably, the result marks Aston’s first victory at the Daytona 24 Hours.

Wehrlein earns a Formula E double for Porsche

It fell short at Daytona, but Porsche remains emphatically the class of the Gen3 field in Formula E, as Pascal Wehrlein completed an impressive double in Diriyah. The ex-Formula 1 racer started the first race on Friday 11^th and the second on Saturday from fifth, using Porsche’s clear performance advantage to carve through to the front on both occasions.

“This weekend has been incredible,” said the German, who broke Porsche’s Formula E duck last year in Mexico, only for the team to fade from contention over the rest of a disappointing season. Such lacklustre form can now be forgotten. “Our race pace was incredible and today [Saturday] we had the perfect strategy, using the Attack Mode power boosts at the right time and not having to use it again after the safety car. That was crucial.”

Dennis keeps up stunning start

Porsche-powered Andretti Avalanche ace Jake Dennis followed up his victory at the Mexico season opener earlier this month with a pair of second places. “You know you’re having a really good season when you’re a little bit disappointed with P2!” said the British driver. The double podium leaves him just four points down on leader Wehrlein ahead of the next round in Hyderabad, India on February 11. The next-best driver, Envision Virgin’s Sebastien Buemi, is already 31 points behind the pair who appear to be streaking away in their own Gen3 title battle. Buemi took pole in his Jaguar-powered car for race one and finished fourth for his best Formula E finish for three seasons.

There was also reason to cheer for the works Jaguar team as Sam Bird put his Mexican driveshaft failure behind him to finish third in race one – his best result for more than a year – while McLaren scored its first Formula E podium in race two, thanks to René Rast. “It feels like a victory,” said the three-time DTM king. 

Photography courtesy of Motorsport Images