Former Supercars champions Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen were an outside chance at a class victory in the prestigious Daytona 24-hour before a teenage teammate suffered a late spin.
The Kiwis were part of a four-driver line-up with 18-year-old Connor Zilisch and 53-year-old gentleman driver Ben Keating, steering a Corvette GT3 in the GTD class.
With Zilisch at the wheel, the was were running in the top five with just over an hour to go when the teenager spun out at the first corner, and collided with a faster LMP2 car.
In a twist of irony, the LMP2 car was the same one in which Zilisch claimed a class victory in last year's race.
Zilisch was slapped with a drive-through penalty for the contact. He could only recover to ninth in class and 25th overall by the chequered flag.
Connor Zilisch spun out late in the Daytona 24-hour. IMSA
"This race is awesome and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it for my second time," Zilisch told Frontstretch.
"I'm really frustrated with my final two stints. We had a really good shot. We were third, saving fuel, and would have been good there for that last run if I didn't make that one mistake and get a drive-through.
"Frustrated with myself but just really had a blast with the entire TF Sport team. All my teammates made it really fun. Glad I got to do this race again but frustrated with how I finished it."
The team had been running in contention at the time of the spin. Getty
Porsche Penske Motorsport dominated the race to claim back-to-back overall victories in the twice-around-the-clock race.
Penske opened 2024 by winning the Daytona 24-hour, and then added a 20th victory in the Indianapolis 500, a third consecutive NASCAR championship, and his pair of Porsches won both the World Endurance Championship title and the IMSA crown.
Once attrition hit other entries in the top prototype class, the Porsches ran first and second for large portions of the race. It was the No.7 full-time IMSA entry that won, making it back-to-back victories for that car despite a different driver line-up.
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“What an incredible day for the entire Porsche Penske Motorsport organization. Both of our Porsche 963s and the drivers showed great speed and reliability," team owner Roger Penske said.
"The crews performed flawlessly, which is a result of meticulous preparation by everyone on the team.
"2024 was an unmatched season of success starting with a win at the 24 Hours of Daytona and it’s great to repeat that success to start 2025 with the third overall win for Team Penske and the 20th victory for Porsche.”
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Felipe Nasr won last year with Dane Cameron and Josef Newgarden, but Cameron was let go at the end of 2024 and Newgarden wasn't part of this year's Rolex line-up. So it was Nasr again, only this time he was paired with Nick Tandy, who will be his IMSA co-driver all season, and Laurens Vanthoor, Penske's reigning WEC champion.
All three drivers were in tears after the race.
Nasr said it is Penske who pushes the team to achieve the excellence he demands.
“The feeling is amazing, just to see how much energy he brings into the team. You get out of the car, he’s like: ‘How’s the car? How’s the handling?’ Like, he’s very interested in every detail,” Nasr said.
McLaughlin and Van Gisbergen's car crossed the line ninth in class. Getty
“He doesn’t miss a pit stop when the cars are coming in, and he’s looking at it all and making comments. I just have a lot of admiration for everything he does, and it stands for the team. It's a very, very unique opportunity to be driving for Porsche Penske Motorsport here.”
Even though the No.7 was so dominant — especially after sunrise late Sunday (AEDT) — the drivers were still challenged until the chequered flag. Penske's No.6 car took the lead with just under an hour to go, but Nasr bested Matt Campbell in a drag race through traffic to cycle back to the front with about 22 minutes remaining.
“Obviously, these guys are racers, and fortunately, we didn’t get into trouble,” Penske said.
The race-winning Porsche Penske of Nick Tandy, Felipe Nasr, and Laurens Vanthoor. Getty
"Terrific job by the whole team. When you think about all the drivers we had, they ran strong all day. And the cars, this Porsche car we have, has just been amazing, and to think we did it two years in a row.
"It’s a credit to all the people here, all the people that are here, that come from Germany … and from Porsche, and our team here. So we’ve got one organisation, and now we’ve been able to say we did it again.”
McLaughlin will continue running full-time in the IndyCar series, while van Gisbergen will graduate to NASCAR's top-tier Cup series for 2025.
