The 2026 season kicks off with a highlight: the 64th edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona will be contested on the Daytona International Speedway in Florida on 24/25 January. Three Porsche 963 cars compete in the top GTP class of the IMSA championship: Porsche Penske Motorsport’s pair of hybrid prototypes will line up alongside the No. 85 entry from the JDC-Miller MotorSports customer squad.
“We had a perfect run in the IMSA series over the past two years, and we’d like to continue this winning streak in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Porsche’s inaugural Le Mans class win and the 60th anniversary of Team Penske,” declares Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “We’re certainly not resting on the laurels of past successes. Together with our partners, we’re systematically working on further refinements. We’ve prepared meticulously and we’re looking forward to a thrilling start to the season with the Porsche 963. We have clear goals: to bring home our third Daytona win in a row and more titles!”
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s new driver lineup for 2026
Am Steuer des Porsche 963 mit der Startnummer 6 wechseln sich die beiden Werksfahrer Kévin Estre aus Frankreich und Laurens Vanthoor aus Belgien während der gesamten Saison ab. In Daytona bekommt das Duo Unterstützung vom amtierenden IMSA-Champion Matt Campbell aus Australien. Im Schwesterauto mit der Nummer 7 agieren Felipe Nasr aus Brasilien und der Franzose Julien Andlauer. Beim Saisonauftakt komplettiert der neue Porsche-Werksfahrer Laurin Heinrich aus Deutschland das Aufgebot.
The two factory-run Porsche 963 contest the 2026 season featuring additional aerodynamic refinements. Porsche Motorsport’s engineers have refined the ‘Made in Flacht’ hybrid prototype to deliver a more consistent performance across a variety of racetracks. The improvements were evident during the three-day test sessions last weekend (16-18 January): in all six ‘Roar’ sessions, the Porsche 963 cars were among the front-runners, often topping the timesheets.
Porsche customer teams compete in three classes
For its IMSA debut, Manthey fields the No. 911 decked out in the famous “Grello” livery. Driving duties will be shared between Klaus Bachler from Austria and Riccardo Feller from Switzerland alongside two DTM champions, the defending titleholder Ayhancan Güven from Turkey and 2023 champion Thomas Preining from Austria.
Overview of all Porsche cars and drivers
GTP class (Porsche 963):
Porsche Penske Motorsport #6: Kévin Estre (FRA) / Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) / Matt Campbell (AUS)
Porsche Penske Motorsport #7: Julien Andlauer (FRA) / Felipe Nasr (BRA) / Laurin Heinrich (DEU)
JDC-Miller MotorSports #85: Nico Pino (CHL) / Tijmen van der Helm (NLD) / Kaylen Frederick (USA)
GTD-Pro class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
AO Racing #77: Harry King (GBR) / Nick Tandy (GBR) / Alessio Picariello (BEL)
Manthey #911: Klaus Bachler (AUT) / Ricardo Feller (CHE) / Thomas Preining (AUT) / Ayhancan Güven (TUR)
GTD class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
RS1 #28: Jan Heylen (BEL) / Eric Zitza (USA) / Dillon Machavern (USA) / Sven Müller (DEU)
Wright Motorsports #120: Adam Adelson (USA) / Elliott Skeer (USA) / Tom Sargent (AUS) / Callum Ilott (GBR)
Muehlner Motorsports #123: Dave Musial Sr. (USA) / Dave Musial Jr. (USA) / Peter Ludwig (USA) / Ryan Yardley (NZL)
Manthey 1st Phorm #912: Ryan Hardwick (USA) / Richard Lietz (AUT) / Morris Schuring (NLD) / Riccardo Pera (ITA)
Further information
The improved GT3 racer from Weissach: Porsche 911 GT3 R
All information on the crew: Team Penske
Photos and videos: Porsche at the 24 Hours of Daytona
All entries at a glance: Entry list
Practice, qualifying and race: Event schedule
Lap times and intervals: Live timing
The on-screen action: Livestream (only available outside USA/Canada)
Where it all happens: Daytona circuit map
The big race in numbers: Daytona statistics
Record winner at Daytona: Porsche’s success story
