Porsche Dominates Daytona Roar: 1-2-3 GTP Lockout Sparks BoP Debate Amid Post-WEC Strategy Shift
In a commanding display that harkens back to their back-to-back Rolex 24 victories in 2024 and 2025, Porsche swept the top three positions in the GTP class during the three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24 testing at Daytona International Speedway.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
The German manufacturer, fresh off a controversial withdrawal from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of 2025, showcased blistering pace that left rivals scrambling and fans buzzing about potential favoritism in IMSA’s Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustments. As the prelude to the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona wrapped up on January 18, 2026, questions lingered: Was Porsche’s dominance a product of engineering prowess, or did IMSA roll out the red carpet to retain a key player in North American sports car racing?
Day 1: Porsche Sets the Tone Under Crisp Conditions
The Roar kicked off on Friday with cool, overcast skies favoring outright speed. In the opening 90-minute session, Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 unleashed a scorching 1:36.327 lap (133.047 mph), a benchmark that would stand unchallenged through the entire test.
This early flyer put Porsche in control, with the factory-backed No. 6 Penske entry (Laurens Vanthoor) and the customer No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports car (Nico Pino) slotting in close behind for an initial 1-2-3. Pino, the 21-year-old phenom leading JDC-Miller’s youthful lineup alongside Tijmen van der Helm (21) and Kaylen Frederick (23), was just 0.004 seconds off Nasr’s pace, highlighting the 963’s consistency across teams.
Cadillac and BMW showed flashes but couldn’t match the Porsches’ rhythm, with Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R landing fourth at 0.404 seconds back. The session set a competitive tone, with the top seven GTP cars separated by under half a second in later runs, but Porsche’s grip on the leaderboard was already firm.
In other classes, LMP2 saw Charles Milesi in the No. 11 TDS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson top the charts at 1:38.935, while GTD Pro and GTD were led by Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin entries, respectively, underscoring the depth of the 60-car field.
Day 2: Consistency Amid Variable Weather
Saturday brought mixed conditions, including light rain that tested setups and driver adaptability. Porsche continued to pace multiple sessions, running 1-2 in one outing and maintaining top-three presence throughout. Ricky Taylor briefly stole the spotlight in Session 4 with a 1:36.731 in the No. 10 Cadillac, but it wasn’t enough to eclipse Nasr’s Day 1 flyer.
The No. 85 JDC-Miller car impressed again, with Pino and company emphasizing reliability over raw speed in preparation for the grueling 24-hour race.
Bronze-rated drivers got their own wet session, where PJ Hyett in the No. 99 AO Racing Oreca LMP2 clocked the fastest time at 1:40.614. Overall, Day 2 reinforced Porsche’s edge, as the 963’s updated aero package—refined from 2025 evolutions—appeared dialed-in for Daytona’s high banks and infield twists.
Day 3: Sunday Lockout and Final Preparations
The test culminated on Sunday with Session 6 under clearer skies, where Porsche sealed their dominance. Pino blitzed a 1:37.099 (131.989 mph) in the No. 85 to lead the session, followed by Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Penske and Nasr in the No. 7— a clean 1-2-3 to cap the weekend. Porsche paced four of the six sessions overall, including two full lockouts and another 1-2, with the top GTP field bunched within 0.474 seconds.
Other notables included Sheldon van der Linde’s fifth-place effort in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 and Tom Blomqvist’s ninth in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, nearly a second adrift. The debuting Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH, run by Heart of Racing, finished 11th, 1.202 seconds off the pace as it shook down for its Rolex 24 debut.
In LMP2, Ben Hanley and Pietro Fittipaldi kept things tight for United Autosports and Pratt Miller, while GTD Pro saw Kenny Habul’s No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo hit 1:47.530. Spencer Pumpelly’s No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin led overall GTD at 1:47.304.
The BoP Question: Favorable Treatment or Fair Play?
Porsche’s unchallenged top time and session sweeps have ignited speculation about IMSA’s BoP tables, released on January 8. The 963 runs at 1035 kg with 99.6% maximum power below 230 km/h (dropping to 98.1% above 240 km/h) and 903 MJ stint energy—parameters shared with BMW but slightly higher than Cadillac’s 896 MJ. Analysis suggests Cadillac holds the best power-to-weight ratio, while Porsche may have a “slight advantage” over Acura in outright pace, per independent breakdowns.
Critics on social media, however, cry foul, with one user quipping that Porsche “left WEC to get a rigged BoP in IMSA.” This echoes broader discontent; Porsche cited WEC BoP dissatisfaction as a factor in their exit, alongside financial woes from declining sales (operating profits down 67% in early 2025) and U.S. tariffs. No official IMSA comments on favoritism, but the sanctioning body’s history of adjusting BoP post-Roar could see tweaks before race week.
IMSA’s Stake: Desperation to Retain Porsche Post-WEC Exit?
Porsche’s WEC withdrawal, announced in October 2025, stemmed from a strategic realignment prioritizing IMSA and Formula E amid economic pressures. The move left no 963s in WEC Hypercar for 2026, ending a chapter that included a 2024 drivers’ title and a fierce 2025 Le Mans duel. Insiders note Porsche blocked privateer efforts like Proton Competition to avoid “confusion” around their brand strategy, a move decried as “disrespectful” in racing circles.
For IMSA, losing Porsche would be a blow, especially with the series emphasizing North American market growth. Retaining the 963 program—now IMSA-exclusive for prototypes—bolsters the GTP class, which features nine manufacturers. While no direct evidence ties BoP to retention efforts, the timing fuels theories that IMSA is incentivizing Porsche to stay committed, particularly after their IMSA dominance in recent years.
As teams fine-tune for the January 24-25 Rolex 24, Porsche’s Roar performance positions them as favorites. But in endurance racing, BoP tweaks and race-day drama can upend testing form. Will IMSA adjust to level the field, or is this the dawn of another Porsche era? The green flag will tell.