Action Express Cadillac’s Jack Aitken stormed to Rolex 24 Daytona pole position after a tense qualifying face off against Meyer Shank Acuras at the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.
Aitken set a blistering lap time of 1:33.939 in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, marking AXR’s second top qualifying spot at the prestigious Daytona endurance classic in the last three years.
The qualifying sessions unfolded under clear conditions at the iconic 3.56-mile road course, with separate 15-minute runs for each class to determine the starting grid for the grueling 24-hour endurance race set to begin on Saturday.
Tom Blomqvist off his morning practice dominance kicked off the session with a flyer in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06 to briefly lead the GTP class times, before the field quickly heated up with rapid improvements.
Renger van der Zande in the sister No. 93 MSR Acura later snatched provisional pole with a lap at 136.281 mph, showcasing exceptional sector times, particularly in the high-speed banking sections where precise throttle control is paramount.
However, Jack Aitken unleashed the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac to a stunning final lap with three minutes remaining, becoming the only driver to dip below the 1:34 barrier, effectively beating Van der Zande to pole by 0.102s.
Louis Deletraz made it two Cadillacs on the front row after delivering a masterful performance in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R to claim third place, just ahead of two-time defending Rolex 24 winner Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.
Blomqvist recovered to round out the top five in the sister MSR Acura, while Kevin Estre’s No. 6 Penske Porsche and Filipe Albuquerque’s No. 10 WTR Cadillac V-Series.R followed in sixth and seventh, the latter benefiting from Ricky Taylor’s earlier reconnaissance laps.
Further back, JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Nico Pino impressed by outpacing both BMW M Team WRT entries to qualifying eighth despite the German manufacturer’s challenges with tire warm-up in the cooler evening air.
Ross Gunn’s Aston Martin THOR Valkyrie rounded out the GTP field in 11th as the AMR prototype continues to refine its balance for endurance racing.
Full GTP class Qualifying Results
Inter Europol claims LMP2 class pole
Shifting to LMP2, Jeremy Clarke snatched his first Rolex 24 Daytona pole position in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca with a lap of 1:39.952.
Clarke who is making his Rolex 24 debut edged PJ Hyett’s No. 99 AO Racing entry by a razor-thin 0.008s after Hyett’s late brake lock-up into Turn 1 scuttled his final improvement attempt.
Dan Goldburg’s No. 22 United Autosports entry climbed from the mid-pack with a late 1:40.1 effort to claim third, ahead of No. 52 Bryan Herta PR1/Mathiasen, where Ben Keating overcame an early spin to secure fourth.
TDS Racing’s No. 11 with Tobias Lutke rounded out the top five, while the second Inter Europol No. 343 with Jakub Smiechowski sat sixth.
Full LMP2 class Qualifying Results
Pratt Miller Corvette, Heart of Racing Aston Martin take GTD Pro, GTD class poles
In GTD Pro, professional lineups in GT3 machinery delivered a thriller with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R dominating via Alexander Sims’ 1:45.106 lap, edging Paul Miller Racing’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO driven by Neil Verhagen by just 0.170s.
Sims capitalized on a late surge after Verhagen pitted prematurely with five minutes left, while Dean MacDonald slotted the No. 59 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Team McLaren in third.
No. 75 Express Mercedes of Maro Engel and No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari of Alessio Rovera completed the top five.
GTD produced even tighter margins as Zacharie Robichon steered the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO to GTD class pole at 1:45.113—just 0.007s shy of GTD Pro’s fastest—beating the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes of Philip Ellis by 0.074s.
Turner Motorsport’s No. 96 BMW with Robby Foley took third, ahead of Charlie Eastwood’s No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette and Valentin Hasse-Clot’s No. 19 Van der Steur Aston Martin, with the top five finishing within 0.268s.
Full GTD Pro, GTD class Qualifying Results
IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona 2026 schedule: Start times, where to watch
