Five Mercedes-AMG GT3 Teams Ready for Rolex 24 Daytona
Five Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams arrive at Daytona International Speedway ready for the 64th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, taking place from 22 to 25 January. Four experienced customer teams will field five Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries across two IMSA GT classes. Two-time and reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series GT Daytona Champions Winward Racing expands to a two-car Mercedes-AMG GT3 effort, while 75 Express, Bartone Bros. Racing with Team GetSpeed, and Lone Star Racing each return with a single entry. Across seven on-track sessions in last weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 test, the group completed 981 laps of the 3.56-mile road course. That total equals 3,492 miles, enough to travel from New York City to London with miles remaining.
Mercedes-AMG customer racing delivered strong Rolex 24 results last year, led by the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which recovered to finish fourth in GTD. The No. 69 Bartone Bros. Racing with Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 also impressed with a fifth-place finish in GTD Pro in its North American race debut. Winward’s charge proved decisive for the team’s second straight IMSA WeatherTech GTD team and driver championships. The crew spent half the race recovering seven laps after an early technical issue. The same resilient line-up returns with full-season and two-time GTD champions Russell Ward and Philip Ellis, joined again by endurance teammates Indy Dontje and Lucas Auer.
Bartone Bros. Racing with Team GetSpeed returns for its second Rolex 24 in GTD Pro. Anthony Bartone and Fabian Schiller returned this year, joined by 2023 GTDPro-winning driver Jules Gounon and Maximilian Götz.
Winward Racing adds a GTD Pro programme this season and launches its first two-car IMSA WeatherTech Championship effort. The No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 pairs Scott Noble and Jason Hart, who will share with endurance teammates Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin. The quartet will contest their first Rolex 24 at Daytona together and complete their first race in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The third Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing entry in GTD Pro comes from the returning No. 75 Express SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Kenny Habul, Maro Engel, Chaz Mostert and IndyCar standout Will Power will drive, with Power making his Rolex 24 debut.
SunEnergy1 finished second in GTD in 2021 when Winward Racing secured its first of two Rolex 24 victories. The team now targets the same front-running pace in GTD Pro. Recent Rolex 24 performances have shown strong speed but also setbacks that cost results. The Roar test provided momentum, and the squad heads into race week aiming for a cleaner run and a stronger finish.
In GTD, Lone Star Racing joins the Winward No. 57 as the team makes its third Rolex 24 start to open its third IMEC season. Scott Andrews, Lin Hodenius and Ralf Aron return, and they welcome experienced newcomer Jame Roe Jr. to the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Lone Star showed leadership potential in its 2024 debut, with Andrews among the drivers who led at three different points before finishing eighth after late-race endurance drama. In 2025, the team added a major highlight when Hodenius produced a standout third-place qualifying performance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his debut weekend across IMSA, IMS and Lone Star Racing. He then took the lead at the start and set the pace in GTD for the opening 44 laps, spending more than an hour in front on the IMS road course.
Beyond the five Mercedes-AMG GT3 contenders, customer racing also features in Friday’s season-opening IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge four-hour race. Winward Racing and Murillo Racing will each field Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries.
Bryce Ward returns in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and will share with Daytona debutant Daan Arrow. Murillo Racing comes back to the Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport competition in partnership with P1 Motor Club. Aurora Straus and Kenny Murillo will co-drive the No. 24 Murillo Racing P1 Motor Club Mercedes-AMG GT4 after marrying on New Year’s Eve.
The 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona begins with practice and qualifying on Thursday, 22 January, followed by final practice on Friday, 23 January. The green flag is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, 24 January. NBC’s Peacock will stream all 24 hours in the United States, with international coverage on IMSA: TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel. The NBC network will broadcast the start at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, 24 January, and returns for the final two hours from noon ET on Sunday, 25 January.
“I love Daytona. It will be my fifth time returning to the Rolex 24, and I'm super excited for that. Two weeks ago, somebody asked me, a Dutch guy and friend, Heyy, are you ready for the race? Are you thinking you're going to win, or are you talking about going for the win?’ And then I said, " To be honest with you, every year we are in the mix, and we have a chance to win, a chance for the podium.' I think we have never had a year where we didn't fight for that. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to the race again after last weekend's Roar. I even feel more confident we have a good car.” Indy Dontje, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
“The Rolex 24 is a very big event that I've wanted to do for a long time. So, really happy to be here, and doing it with Kenny Habul. You know, we raced against each other years ago in Australia, in Formula Ford and Formula 3. We've actually talked about it for a while, and it fell through a couple of times due to circumstances, but I like it. I am having a lot of fun. It's a different style of racing. Dealing with cars, motoring by you, having to navigate a lot of traffic and being very aware of what is going on around you. It’s fun, and I am looking forward to getting in the car again for the race.” Will Power, Driver – No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3
“Well, first of all, I'm super happy to be here for the second time, although I just went to the new driver briefing just to refresh everything because I don't do IMSA all of the time. The team is very well prepared. They were well prepared last year as well, but I think they've taken another step this year. The torque sensors aren't the new thing this year, so that made the Roar a lot easier already. We could focus more on procedures and on a proper test, just the pure car setup. So, I feel very prepared. We didn't get a chance to fight at the end, unfortunately, last year, although I think the car was very capable and quick. The focus this year is to keep it clean until the end and be there to fight for it.” Ralf Aron, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
“It was nice to be back in the car after a month off from our winning weekend at Sepang in the Asian Le Mans Series. This is my biggest race of the year, so it was great to start with three strong days of practice at the Roar. We are building off last year’s fifth-place finish to make the next step in performance. We completed our entire technical plan, and everyone feels good about the effort going into the race. The team completed all items on its test checklist and confirmed the car's setup on Daytona's high-banked oval sections. Thanks to my Dad, Tony, the GetSpeed team and the RealTime crew for their work.” Anthony Bartone, Driver – No. 69 Bartone Bros. Racing with Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I think we made good progress over the three days at the Roar. We’ve changed the setup quite a bit, which was the target, and we are still learning about the tyres. In the end, it was productive, and we ended up with a good car. This is my sixth Rolex 24, so I have many laps here for comparison. It is a great way to kick off the season.” Maximilian Götz, Driver – No. 69 Bartone Bros. Racing with Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3
“The car showed up really well off the truck, and then we got very particular about a few nuances in specific corners. The team has created a nice basket of changes that we ran through at the Roar, and now we have decided which direction we actually want to go, when the car needs to be best, which, of course, is the last few hours. But the overall drive of the car, the function, and how docile it is, how nice it is to drive, is quite good. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is probably the most driver-friendly and easiest to acclimate to of all of the GT3 cars. The nuances of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 exhibit are easy to get your head around, whereas other cars can be a little bit trickier. A good feeling for all of us this Sunday would be to be on the lead lap when the sun comes up. From there, good luck to our competitors, because we feel we have a fantastic team and crazy-fast-closing drivers. We're ready.” Jason Hart, Driver – No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3