The Porsche customer teams have put their stamp on the 24 Hours of Daytona. The 911 GT3 R from Pfaff Motorsports won the new GTD Pro class after a gripping duel with KCMG. The works pilots Mathieu Jaminet from France, Matt Campbell from Australia and Felipe Nasr from Brazil prevailed in the big showdown against the crew of the Asian customer team from Hong Kong. In the GTD category, Wright Motorsports celebrated a triumph with the over 500 hp GT3 car from Weissach. Works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) shared starting number 16 with Jan Heylen from Belgium, Zacharie Robichon from Canada and American Ryan Hardwick. Porsche has thus added a brilliant chapter to its history as the most successful brand at the long-distance classic in Florida: 18 overall victories as a manufacturer,

The field of 61 vehicles started at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday in sunny but unusually cool temperatures for the US state of Florida. Already in the early phase, the strong customer teams from Porsche underpinned their ambitions and took turns doing the leadership work in the GTD-Pro class for many hours. No vehicle was able to gain a decisive lead, because the competition was repeatedly slowed down by incidents in the first twelve hours. With a total of eleven yellow hares, the drivers spent almost four hours behind the safety car. Things only calmed down early on Sunday morning: a phase in which the Porsche 911 GT3 R finally brought themselves into promising positions in the fight for class wins.

The number 9 car from Pfaff Motorsports and the number 2 car from KCMG were always the focus of attention in their alternating leadership roles. However, the big showdown came after the last of a total of 17 safety car phases. After the final pit stop, Mathieu Jaminet returned to the track with a lead of 0.5 seconds over Laurens Vanthoor. With his blue and silver 911, the Belgian kept sitting next to the front runners, and the spectators held their breath as the numerous touches and door-to-door duels took place. In the last three minutes of the 24-hour race, the great show of the two successful customer teams culminated in a duel that made the hearts of all motorsport fans beat faster: on the penultimate lap, Vanthoor heaved past Jaminet with a hard and consistent maneuver. However, the Frenchman was by no means defeated. The remarkable counterattack took place in the final round. Trying to defend himself against the loss of position, Vanthoor spun and finished the race in third place together with his colleagues Dennis Olsen (Norway), Patrick Pilet (France) and Alexandre Imperatori (Switzerland).

In the GTD class, the lead kept changing over the long distance between numerous vehicles from different brands. A clever strategy and extremely strong driving performance ultimately led to the decision in favor of the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Jan Heylen successfully fended off all the attacks of the pursuers in the last hour of the race. On the podium, the Belgian celebrated the first GTD class victory for Porsche in five years together with Lietz, Hardwick and Robichon.

"Customer racing at factory racing level - we were able to experience that in Daytona today," says Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. "I can't put the finale into words. We can only emphasize how hard and professionally all seven vehicles were used by the teams in the race. Victory in the GTD and double podium in the GTD Pro class! In a competition with a total of 35 GT vehicles, that is not a gift, but a well-deserved reward for the teams, the drivers and for Porsche.”

WeatherTech Racing's starting number 79 had no part in the impressive finale in the new GTD Pro class. The team was thrown back early on by electrical defects, and later on there were a few penalties and rides. American Cooper MacNeil and his teammates Matteo Cairoli from Italy, Julien Andlauer from France and Alessio Picariello from Belgium finished eighth. After 24 hours, the customer team TGM crossed the finish line in seventh place in the GTD without any incidents worth mentioning. Hardpoint missed out on a potential top finish due to numerous incidents and penalties and ended the season opener in North America in tenth place. The Porsche 911 GT3 R of the GMG Racing team retired after an accident after around three hours on Saturday afternoon.

With their successes in the two GTD classes, the teams and drivers from Pfaff Motorsports and Wright Motorsports have taken the lead in the IMSA championship. In addition, the two crews are at the top of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. This long-distance special classification includes the races in Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and on Road Atlanta. The second round of the season of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is another classic: The 12 Hours of Sebring takes place on March 19th. On the same weekend, the season of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC starts at the former airfield. The Porsche works team will also compete there in 2022 with two 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro class.

Driver comments on the race
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #9):“Not only was the last lap a spectacle, but it was an unbelievable duel over two hours. I drove my heart out on every single lap, really gave it my all. Of course I know Laurens well, he is my colleague at Porsche. I know how strong he is. Again and again he tried, again and again there was contact. But I thought to myself: 'You're not passing by today!' On the last lap we both ended up in the grass. I was lucky enough to avoid a spin. That's it. The colleagues from KCMG had the slightly faster car, but thanks to perfect work by our team and outstanding performances by my team-mates, we ended up in front. It was promotion for motorsport and a perfect start to the season for us.”

Matt Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R #9): “I can only shake my head in disbelief at this show. I'm full of adrenaline and emotions. It was not only exciting to follow the duel from the outside, but also exhausting. Hats off to Mathieu, who fought hard to get us this win. We won the Daytona 24 Hours today – unbelievable!”

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 911 GT3 R #9):"I can not believe it. I join Porsche and win my very first race at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. It's like in a fairy tale. Mathieu and Matt did such an incredible job, as did the entire Pfaff Motorsports team. I really wanted to win at Daytona - now it happened. Tonight I will properly celebrate this success together with my colleagues and our squad.”

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 GT3 R #2):“I had a clear goal: After my victories at the Nürburgring, in Spa and in Le Mans, I finally wanted to win the 24-hour race in Daytona to complete the quartet. In the end, I did everything I could to achieve this goal. I've tried everything. Unfortunately it went wrong. The scenes from the last laps will definitely go through my head countless times. I cried on the way back to the pit lane: I tried everything but didn't win. The better ones won today. That was Pfaff Motorsports. Congratulations to my colleagues.”

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16):"Not bad, right? Our car ran very well over the entire distance, the team worked perfectly. After crossing the finish line, our Porsche 911 GT3 R has not a single scratch. That was the key to our success. Our car was still fast in the finale too. Many thanks to Team Wright Motorsports and my colleagues. It was a lot of fun and we wanted more.”

Jan Heylen (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16):“We have tried our luck so many times in Daytona and have often been on the podium – but never as class winners. Everything went well today. Finally we have the first success in this big race. The joy is huge. The team more than deserves it. Thanks to Ryan Hardwick for bringing this group together. And an equally big thank you to Porsche for the excellent support. I'm overwhelmed!”

Result GTD Pro class
1st Campbell/Jaminet/Nasr (AUS/F/BR), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, 711 laps
2nd Pier Guidi/Calado/Serra/Rigon (I/GB/ BR/I), Ferrari 488 GT3 #62, 711 laps
3. Vanthoor/Olsen/Imperatori/Pilet (B/N/CH/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #2, 711 laps
8. Andlauer/Picariello/Cairoli/MacNeil (F/B/I/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #79, 673 laps

Result GTD class
1. Hardwick/Heylen/Lietz/Robichon (USA/B/A/CDN), Porsche 911 GT3 R #16, 707 laps
2. Lally/Potter/Pumpelly/Adam (USA/USA/USA/GB) , Aston Martin #44, 707 laps
3. Andrews/Skeen/Davison/McAleer (AUS/USA/AUS/GB), Mercedes-AMG #32, 707 laps
7. Giovanis/Trinkler/H. Plumb/M. Plumb (USA/USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #64, 697 laps
10. Ferriol/Legge/Wilson/Boulle (USA/GB/GB/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #88, 672 laps
21. Washington/Bachler/Sofronas/Bleekemolen (USA/A/USA/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 R #34, 88 laps

All results and championship standings at imsa.alkamelsystems.com.