IMSA Rolex 24 Hour 15: Fog Continues to Dominate as Race Creeps Past Hour 15 Under Prolonged Caution
Daytona Beach, Fla. (January 25, 2026) – As the 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona entered its overnight phase, dense fog blanketed the Daytona International Speedway, forcing race officials to deploy a full-course caution that has now persisted for over four hours.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
With visibility plummeting to near-zero in the pre-dawn darkness, the field has been neutralized since shortly before the halfway mark, turning what should have been a high-stakes battle into a strategic chess match dominated by pit stop cycles. At the 15-hour mark, the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 holds a slim lead in GTP, but the order remains fluid as teams gamble on fuel and tire strategies under yellow.
The caution was first called around the 11-hour point due to worsening low visibility, and it has shown no signs of lifting. IMSA officials have indicated that the fog is not expected to dissipate until after daybreak, potentially extending the yellow-flag conditions well into the morning hours. This has effectively paused on-track passing, with the only position changes coming from differing pit strategies.
From the 12-hour mark to now, the prototype and GT fields have completed an additional 54 laps under controlled speeds, bringing the leaders to 440 laps in GTP—a pace far slower than the green-flag racing seen earlier in the event.
GTP Class
In the premier GTP class, the No. 7 Porsche Penske entry—driven by Felipe Nasr, Josef Newgarden (listed as I. Apdauer in results, possibly a typo or alias), and Laurens Vanthoor—led at halfway with 386 laps completed, holding a narrow 0.853-second advantage over the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R.
However, pit rotations under caution have shuffled the deck. By hour 15, the sister No. 6 Porsche Penske 963, shared by Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, and Matt Campbell, has cycled to the front, leading by just 0.758 seconds over the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 (Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Rene Rast, Robin Frijns).
The No. 31 Cadillac (Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti, Connor Zilisch) sits third, 1.312 seconds back, while the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 (Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, AJ Allmendinger) and No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac (Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta) round out the top five, all on the lead lap.
Further back, the No. 25 BMW M Team WRT entry (Raffaele Marciello, Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, Kevin Magnussen) climbed from ninth at 12 hours to sixth, benefiting from a well-timed pit stop, while the No. 7 Porsche dropped to seventh. The No. 93 Meyer Shank Acura fell to 10th, one lap down. The Aston Martin THOR Team’s No. 23 Valkyrie, which was 19th overall at halfway, remains mired in 19th, hampered by earlier issues and unable to capitalize under yellow.
LMP2
LMP2 has seen similar strategy-driven shifts. At the 12-hour mark, the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 (PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron, James Edgar, Christian Rasmussen) led the class with 374 laps. But by hour 15, the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA (Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg, Antonio Felix da Costa, James Clarke) has taken over, leading a tight pack of seven cars on 428 laps.
The No. 8 Tower Motorsports entry (John Farano, Sebastien Bourdais, Salvador Alvarez, Kyle Simpson) is second, just 0.726 seconds behind, with the No. 22 United Autosports USA car (Dan Goldburg, Paul di Resta, Rasmus Lindh, Gregoire Saucy) third. The No. 99 has slipped to fifth, while the No. 37 Intersport Racing ORECA holds eighth in class, three laps adrift.
GTD Pro
In GTD PRO, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Nico Verhagen, Connor De Phillippi, Maxime Hesse, Daniel Harper) paced the field at halfway with 359 laps. Pit cycles have propelled the No. 65 Ford Racing Mustang GT3 (Christopher Mies, Franck Vervisch, Sebastian Priaulx) to the lead by hour 15, with 413 laps completed.
The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Nick Tandy, Henry King, Alessio Picariello) is second, 1.002 seconds back, followed by the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 (Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, Kyle Kirkwood). The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini, absent from the top at 12 hours, now sits 13th in class (48th overall), a lap down after penalties or mechanical woes.
GTD
GTD mirrors the theme of pit-induced variability. The No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R (Marco Filippi, Callum Eastwood, Scott McLaughlin, Salih Yoluc) led at 12 hours with 358 laps.
However, the class lead has shifted to the No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (Simon Mann, Lilou Wadoux Ducellier, Antonio Fuoco, Thomas Mosca) at 412 laps.
The No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo (Brendan Potter, Spencer Pumpelly, Nicki Thim, Marc Snow) is second, 3.242 seconds adrift, with the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (Scott Andrews, Lars Hodenius, John Roe, Ralf Aron) third. The No. 36 has dropped to eighth in class (41st overall), while several entries like the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari and No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari trail a lap behind.
Conclusion
With nine hours remaining and the fog expected to linger until sunrise around 7 a.m. EST, teams are conserving resources under the extended caution. Fuel mileage and tire wear have become paramount, as a return to green-flag racing could spark a frantic sprint to the finish. “It’s all about positioning now,” said one team strategist anonymously. “The real race restarts when the fog lifts—if it does in time.”
The Rolex 24’s overnight drama has shifted from speed to strategy, testing the endurance of drivers, crews, and fans alike in the misty Florida night. There will be no meaningful changes to the running order until this fog lifts.