Photo: Karl Zemlin
This month’s Daytona 24 Hours, the IMSA season opener, will feature several active junior single-seater stars.
In the top Grand Touring Prototype class for hypercar prototype sportscars, JDC–Miller MotorSports will run Indy Nxt podium-finisher Bryce Aron in its Porsche 963 alongside regular driver Tijmen van her Helm and reigning Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein.
Sportscar newcomer Aron was a race-winner in GB3 and Euroformula before stepping up to Indy Nxt last year with Andretti Global. He came ninth in the standings with two third places his best results, and switches to HMD Motorsports for the 2025 season.
In IMSA’s LMP2 class, Aron’s 2024 team-mate James Roe Jr will drive for Pratt Miller Motorsports. The Irishman won in Formula Regional Americas and USF Pro 2000 on his way up to Indy Nxt, and over three seasons has three podiums and a pole. Last year he was a personal-best sixth in the standings.
Roe will remain with Andretti for this year, but has also committed to a part-time but busy IMSA campaign. He will have to miss the rounds which clash with Indy Nxt, and his team-mates will be IndyCar racers Pietro Fittipaldi and Callum Ilott, and the bronze-rated Chris Cumming.
FIA Formula 3-bound Niko Lacorte will cameo with Cetilar Racing in the GTD class at Daytona, joining his team-owning father Robert, fellow second-generation talent Lorenzo Patrese and Ferrari’s reigning Le Mans 24 Hours winner Antonio Fuoco in a Ferrari 296 GT3.
The younger Lacorte won a race in FRegional Oceania and scored twice in FRegional Europe last year as a rookie with the backing of the Alpine Formula 1 team, and is stepping up to FIA F3 with DAMS.