One year after its class victory in GTD Pro during the premier American endurance race, Ferrari returns to Florida for the 2025 24 Hours at Daytona, the opening round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Eight 296 GT3 cars are entered for the event that marks the start of the US motorsport season, fielded by six teams and featuring ten official drivers of the Prancing Horse in the production-derived car classes. Following last weekend’s ROAR Before the 24 – this year dedicated to free practice sessions – race week gets underway with the start scheduled for 1.40 p.m. local time on Saturday, 25 January.
GTD Pro. The 63rd edition of the 24 Hours at Daytona sees a Ferrari 296 GT3 competing in the class reserved for line-ups composed solely of professional drivers: namely car number 81, entered by DragonSpeed, a team participating in the full IMSA season, including both endurance and sprint events. The car is entrusted to three Prancing Horse official drivers – Davide Rigon, Miguel Molina, and Thomas Neubauer – alongside Albert Costa.
GTD. The remaining seven Ferraris are entered in the class reserved for line-ups of professional and gentlemen drivers. AF Corse will field two cars: number 21, with official drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and Lilou Wadoux, crewed with Simon Mann and Kei Cozzolino; and number 50, with official driver Arthur Leclerc alongside Custodio Toledo, Riccardo Agostini, and Conrad Laursen. Two Ferraris are also entered by Triarsi Competizione: the number 021, driven by Sheena Monk, Stevan McAleer, Mike Skeen, and official driver James Calado; and number 023, featuring Onofrio Triarsi, Charles Scardina, Eddie Cheever, and official driver Alessio Rovera.
The entry list also includes the crews of Conquest Racing with its number 34 Ferrari 296 GT3, courtesy of official driver Daniel Serra, together with Manny Franco, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli, and Giacomo Altoè. Cetilar Racing is also in action with Ferrari number 47, shared by official driver Antonio Fuoco, father-and-son duo Roberto and Nicola Lacorte as well as Lorenzo Patrese. Rounding off the Maranello manufacturer’s representation is Ferrari number 70 from Inception Racing, with drivers Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff, Ollie Millroy, and David Fumanelli; additionally, official driver Nicklas Nielsen will participate in the 24 Hours in an LMP2-class prototype.
ROAR. Last weekend, the American circuit, configured for the 24 Hours at Daytona with a 3.56-mile (5.7 km) layout, hosted the first seven free practice sessions during the ROAR Before the 24, which were partially affected by heavy rain. The best lap time for a Ferrari in GTD Pro was set by Costa in the DragonSpeed 296 GT3, placing eighth overall with a time of 1:48.263; ninth in the combined standings was teammate Molina (1:48.278). In GTD, the top Ferrari car was AF Corse’s number 21, third for Italian driver Pier Guidi (1:48.131), who also recorded the best overall time for the Ferraris.
History. Over the decades, the race has predominantly been contested over 24 hours, except between 1962 and 1966, and in 1972, when it featured different durations. During this time, the Maranello manufacturer has claimed 17 class victories and five overall wins. The most recent class victory was in 2024, when official drivers Davide Rigon, Daniel Serra, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and James Calado triumphed in GTD Pro with Risi Competizione’s 296 GT3 after 733 laps. In the annals of Ferrari history and the minds of its tifosi, the 1967 victory stands out, with Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon triumphing at the wheel of the F330 P3/P4. The race ended with a parade finish for Ferrari, with the second and third spots taken by the 330 P4 of Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti and the 412 P of Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet, respectively.
