Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist drove the pole-winning No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to a 4.190-second victory to win the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class win in the first race with hybrid-powered prototypes. It was the second consecutive and third overall Rolex 24 victory for the Meyer Shank team, which led a race-best 365 of the 783 laps, crossing the stripe 4.190 seconds ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.
The Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh cars from Chip Ganassi Racing finished third (with driver Renger van der Zande in the No. 01) and fourth (Earl Bamber in the No. 02). The top four cars were separated by 11.176 seconds after 24 hours of racing on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course.
Blomqvist shared the car in the race with Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, the latter duo also part of last year’s Rolex 24 triumph. Last weekend’s victory is Castroneves’ third straight in the iconic race, tying the late Peter Gregg for most consecutive overall victories in sports car racing’s renowned season opener.
The MSR No. 60 Acura led the final 97 laps despite having to repair the gearbox midrace and worrying whether it would indeed make it to the end. It marks the third straight Rolex 24 overall victory for Acura, which also won with the WTRAndretti team in 2021.
Nine hybrid prototypes made the debut of the GTP class in the race. All but one were still running at the finish, including the top six overall finishers, an impressive outing for a car making its first competitive showing in one of the longest, most grueling events on the schedule.
For complete results, click here.