DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A difficult start turned into a strong finish for BMW M Team RLL in qualifying for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the opening round of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 driven by Sheldon van der Linde caused a red flag when it stalled on track less than five minutes into the 15-minute Grand Touring Prototype class qualifying session. But Dries Vanthoor saved the day as he drove the team’s No. 24 entry to the GTP and overall pole for Saturday’s 24-hour contest.
BMW was extremely competitive in the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 test sessions, with Vanthoor setting the fastest overall time. The 26-year-old Belgian, who is embarking on his first full season of IMSA competition, repeated that form when it counted in qualifying.
It was Vanthoor’s first IMSA Motul Pole Award and also the first for BMW within GTP, as the manufacturer enters its third year in the new class. With the stoppage for the stalled No. 25 BMW, he and the other GTP contestants had time for only two flying laps. The younger Vanthoor brother (older brother Laurens is the endurance driver in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963) will share the polesitting No. 24 BMW with full-season co-driver Philipp Eng, Formula 1 veteran Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello.
“For sure it wasn’t easy with the red flag,” said Vanthoor, whose Motul Pole Award winning lap was timed at 1 minute, 33.895 seconds (136.493 mph). “It makes tire warming a bit more difficult for everyone. That was a big struggle for us last year, but we have been improving a lot. Then it was just about getting the lap together and trying to do the best that I could. That worked out, luckily, so I am very happy.
“We’ve been working hard,” he added. “It’s nice to see that it’s working for everyone here, and also everyone back at the factory. I think everybody can be happy and proud of that, but (the pole) is a little cherry on a big cake and there’s still a big thing still to happen. That’s the race, and that can go any way.”
Nick Yelloly qualified the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 on the outside of the front row in Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s return to IMSA competition after a year off at 1:34.186 (136.071 mph). Defending GTP class champion Felipe Nasr was third in the No. 7 Penske Porsche (1:34.280, 135.935 mph).
Qualifying was staged in difficult, cold conditions, with wind chills at Daytona in the low 40s ambient, and track temperatures not much warmer. Vanthoor wore a heavy parka and ski cap when he met the media after qualifying.
“It’s a bit cold in the car, but when you come out you’re sweating a lot,” he remarked. “You can get sick easily, and that would be the last thing we need going into a 24-hour race.”
United Autosports USA dominated Le Mans Prototype 2 class qualifying for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with Daniel Goldburg and Nick Boulle securing first and third on the grid for the team co-owned by McLaren Formula 1 team principal Zak Brown and Richard Dean.
It’s Goldburg’s second career Motul Pole Award in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition, and first since Road America in August 2021 in the former Le Mans Prototype 3 class.
Additionally, Goldburg’s lap ended Ben Keating’s run of five straight pole positions achieved at the Rolex 24 through either traditional qualifying or the Motul Pole Award 100 qualifying race, which ran for two years.
Bronze-rated drivers qualify in LMP2 and while Goldburg came close to pole several times in 2024, he came up short with four second-place efforts and seven top-five efforts in as many races.
“This is our moment to stack up against each other in the Bronze category,” Goldburg said after a pole-winning lap timed at 1 minute, 38.676 seconds (129.879 mph). “I’m super excited. I’ve been chasing this pole for all of the last year, and been a couple tenths off a bunch of times. That pole was elusive for me. So, this feels really good. I’ve been putting in a ton of work.
“It’s a long race ahead, but this is a great first notch,” continued Goldburg, who shares the No. 22 ORECA LMP2 07 this week with Paul di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and 2023 LMP2 Rolex 24 winner James Allen. “I’ve got great teammates and have been able to compare a lot of great data. I’m just inching closer and closer to what they do. After every session, I watch the video and chase the data and just trying to keep inching closer.”
Two-time IMSA LMP2 class champion Keating split his former team, United Autosports, in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 and will start on the outside of the front row.
Nick Boulle, who co-drove with Tom Dillmann to the IMSA LMP2 championship last year, will make his first start for United Autosports in the No. 2 ORECA from third place as he contests all Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of the WeatherTech Championship.
Mike Rockenfeller led GTD-Pro qualifying driving the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3
