The 24 Hours of Daytona, the opening round of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship, provided a thrilling showcase of endurance and strategy at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. A mix of record-breaking performances, dramatic incidents, and strategic brilliance characterized the first round of the 11-race championship and the five-race Endurance Cup.
Sim City Racing’s #71 Porsche 911 GT3 R claimed a stunning victory, crossing the finish line a dominant 27.818 seconds ahead of its nearest rival. The win marked a milestone for the team, which is new to the series but showed immense promise during December’s Daytona Test and The Roar Before The 24 qualifying event. Drivers Kevin Carlisle, Peter Spijkman, Peter Nodwell, Jason Allen, and Ryan Skalny showcased remarkable consistency and racecraft, overcoming a mid-race setback to seize the lead in the final hours.
Highs and Lows Across the Field
Pole-sitters Kinetic Racing’s #67 Acura NSX GT3 EVO endured a mixed weekend. Despite leading a race-high 183 laps, their challenge was marred by a post-race penalty for a car contact incident under yellow flag conditions, relegating them to a sixth-place finish. The race also set a new GT PRO class record with 82 lead changes, underscoring the intense competition among the field.
Blocco Motore Simsport’s #183 Porsche impressed by climbing from 15th to finish fifth in their series debut. Meanwhile, defending champions #44 Fischer Motorsport Porsche secured a strong start to their title defense. The entry from the Leipzig, Germany team led 130 laps and secured a podium finish in third, while their sister #84 car also led 74 laps and overcame several late-race spins to finish fourth.
The #93 Digital Chicane Acura NSX GT3 EVO delivered a consistent performance to finish second, earning critical points in both the overall championship and Endurance Cup standings.
The endurance classic, the longest race of the year, saw its share of incidents and setbacks. Eight full-course yellows accounted for three hours and 36 minutes of downtime, with significant incidents shaping the race’s outcome. The #917 PULSAR eSports Team McLaren and #112 Rusty Spatulas Racing Corvette were among those heavily impacted by on-track incidents, each finishing several laps down.
The lone BMW in the field, Delta Racing’s #12, suffered extensive damage after a collision in the sixth hour and limped to the finish five laps adrift. Similarly, TwoLemmaTree Racing’s debut ended in disappointment after a series of incidents left their McLaren 11 laps behind the leaders.
Post-Race Quotes
Jason Allen, #71 Sim City Racing Porsche: "Wow, what a race! Climbing out of this beautiful Porsche GT3 feels awesome! The car and entire crew performed awesome the entire race. We only had a one little mishap and the crew and crew chief did great work to get us back up front, just after the eight hour mark into the race. We battled all month getting ready for our inaugural VSCA season!"
"GT PRO is stacked this year, looking at these teams and driver lineups we are honored to be running with them! I believe we took the lead on lap 7 and stayed in the top three until the eight hour mark when we had a little damage that needed to be repaired. We spent the next four hours planning our strategy to get our laps back and it worked out for us today."
"Those last eight hours, that was something, I got to tell you; that battle with Digital Chicane, the two Fischer cars, Blocco and Kinetic. We were all up front battling each lap and we had some amazing clean racing. I've got to give respect for these guys. Being new, I feel like we have to earn the respect of everyone and show that we can race hard and clean with these established teams."
"Being our first race in the series, we didn't really know what to expect. After the Roar we kind of thought, we had a top five car on pace and we know, we have a great driver lineup. So it came down to being smart for the 24 Hours and of course we needed some racing luck as well!"
"I want to give a shout out and thank our great partners, the best in and out of the sim racing community Maconi Setup Shop, Oakley, Jordan, Monster, VRS, ABRUZZI racewear and GRID Engineering."
Sim City Racing take lead in championship standings
Sim City Racing’s triumph places them at the top of both the SportsCar Championship and Endurance Cup standings in GT PRO class.
In the SportsCar Championship, the #93 Digital Chicane Acura trails the race winners by 60 points, with reigning GT PRO champions #44 Fischer Motorsport right in their tow at a deficit of 68 points.
The 24 Hours of Daytona awarded Endurance Cup points to teams at the 6-hour, 12-hour, 18-hour and checkered flag marks, respectively, with a maximum of 20 points up for grabs in the event.
The #71 Sim City Racing Porsche made the most of it, earning 14 points while the #67 Kinetic Racing McLaren trails by a mere point.
The #68 TwoLemmaTree Racing McLaren had a heartbreaker of a race result, but benefits from the Endurance Cup points system and made the most of it, earning a strong 12 points and trailing by only two points, placing the team in third place.
Looking Ahead
For GT PRO teams, the championship now shifts to Los Angeles, California for the MV Skinlab Grand Prix of Long Beach on February 8. Featuring only the GTP and GT PRO classes, the event will test teams on the tight, technical street circuit in Round 2 of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship. Fans can expect another thrilling chapter in what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested season.
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