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Porsche Penske Holds Early 1-2 After Chaotic Rolex 24 Start at Daytona

Warm, mostly dry conditions are expected to shape tire strategy through the 24 hours.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - JANUARY 25: The #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Simon Mann, Lilou Wadoux Ducellier, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Kei Cozzolino races with d2415 and The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje, and Lucas Auer during the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 25, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Overview

  • An opening-lap LMP2 crash at Turn 1 triggered an immediate full-course yellow, collecting the #11 TDS, #4 CrowdStrike APR, #18 Era, and #2 United Autosports entries.
  • Stewards held Naveen Rao (#18 Era) responsible for the LMP2 incident and issued a 120-second stop-and-go penalty, costing multiple laps.
  • The #28 RS1 Porsche in GTD crashed heavily at Turn 1 and became the first retirement; driver Eric Zitza was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
  • After one hour, Felipe Nasr (#7) led teammate Kévin Estre (#6) for a Porsche Penske 1-2, with polesitter Renger van der Zande’s #93 Acura running third.
  • Ben Keating led LMP2, Corvette Racing ran 1-2 in GTD Pro with Alexander Sims ahead, and Winward’s Philip Ellis paced GTD, while viewers can watch every lap on Peacock with NBC airing the start and finish.