2025 IMSA Esports Global Championship | Michelin 240 at Daytona | Race Preview

The final IMSA Esports Global Championship event of the 2025 season, the Michelin 240, is scheduled for Sunday, December 7th, at the famed Daytona International Speedway. Closing in on the conclusion to the fourth season, the 52 entered teams will finish their fight for the crown across the two class championships, with 20 teams competing in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class and 32 teams taking on the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class. Bringing the classes back together once more, both classes will race for glory for two hours and 40 minutes at the World Center of Racing. The Global Championship action begins at 2:00 p.m. ET. Countdown to Green kicks off the show at 1:45 pm ET.

A $25,000 prize pool is on the line, with top teams in each class collecting $5,000 at the end of the season. Last year, Williams Esports Chillblast and Team Redline were victorious in their respective classes. This year, Team Redline leads the way in the GTP class with two cars, the No. 33 and No. 34 tied at the top entering the finale. The No. 91 Porsche Coanda has been dominant, but enter the finale 75 points behind. In GTD, Coanda Esports have a lock on the top two spots, with the No. 118 leading the No. 181 after three races. They’re both being chased by the No. 110 MAHLE Racing Team and the No. 199 Apex Racing Team, both within striking distance heading to Daytona.

Who will claim the final victories of the 2025 season? Which teams will reign as champions this year? Tune in on Sunday afternoon to find out!

ROUND 4: MICHELIN 240 AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY | ENTRY LIST: GTP

All roster substitutions are highlighted above. The Michelin Wild Card GTP Entry is also highlighted above 

ROUND 4: MICHELIN 240 AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY | ENTRY LIST: GTD

All roster substitutions are highlighted above. The Michelin Wild Card GTD Entry is also highlighted above 

CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL IMSA ENTRY LIST
2025 IMSA ESPORTS GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP MICHELIN 240 SPOTTERS GUIDE

LAST RACE

Two weeks ago, the IMSA Esports Global Championship split the party, sending the GTP contingent to the Streets of Long Beach and the GTD faithful to the hills of VIRginia International Raceway. Rain would afflict both venues, but more so on the west coast with the prototypes. The No. 91 Porsche Coanda team took the pole and the early lead, but when the rain started falling about five minutes into the show, it was truly anyone’s guess as to which strategy would prevail. Would it be the No. 99 Apex Racing Team Cadillac that started the dry day on wet weather tires? What about the Team Redline duo of the No. 33 and No. 34 choosing to undercut the No. 91?

At the end of it, the No. 91 still prevailed, as the No. 99’s pace fell off through the changing conditions, and the No. 33 and No. 34 had their own list of troubles, including a mismanaged minimum driver time.

Over on the east coast, the GTD brigade was led to the green by the No. 150 Ferrari Esports machine in damp, but not totally wet, but a start penalty forced them into the pits and handed the lead to the car that started right behind, the No. 102 Veloce Thrustmaster Ferrari. The No. 102 leapfrogged the No. 199 Apex Racing Team Ford on the start as well, but the No. 199 seemed to have a slight bit more pace throughout, keeping the pressure on.

Through the pit cycle and the driver swap, the No. 102 kept the lead, but still, the pressure was on behind. The two cars made contact on occasion, but nothing race-altering or penalizable. In the end, a built-in track slowdown penalty took the No. 199 out of contention, allowing the No. 102 to celebrate at the end of the day.

CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK

Heading into the Daytona finale, each class has a single team with both of their entries on top of the board.

For the GTP ranks, Team Redline is in control. The No. 33 BMW M Team Redline entry of Diogo Pinto and Chris Lulham has a race win from Road Atlanta, while the No. 34 Team Redline BMW of Luke McKeown and Edoardo Leo managed the wet weather better at Long Beach to tie up the points with one race to go. If not for a race-ending crash during a pit cycle at Road Atlanta, we might be talking about the No. 91 Porsche Coanda entry, this week fielded by Josh Rogers and Mitchell deJong, as the championship locks. They sit 75 points behind, and will need both Team Redline entries to have a struggle at the World Center of Racing on Sunday to have a chance at the title.

Over in GTD, a similar story for the Coanda Esports teams has the No. 118 of Michael Janney and Tristan Iglesias on top of the world, but just by eight points over their teammates in the No. 181 of Xander Reed and Alejandro Sánchez. Neither Coanda car was in contention for the victory, both dealing with a mid-pack qualifying effort and their own issues throughout the VIR event. It was looking as though the No. 181 would extend their lead, however, until a late penalty forced them into the pits. This gave the advantage to the No. 118, and now the team with two wins on the season (the No. 181) trails their teammates by a handful of points entering the last race.

If both qualify in the same area, it may come down to whoever finishes higher, or wins, but the No. 110 MAHLE Racing Team BMW of Rainer Talvar and Ryan Barneveld, plus the No. 199 Apex Racing Team Ford of Yohann Harth and Luca Kita, are within striking distance as well, and could steal it away from the Coanda compatriots.

LAST SEASON

In the Daytona finale for the 2024-25 season, a bit of an X factor… or perhaps, a “Max” factor… entered the GTP title equation as a Michelin Wild Card entry to cap off the season. Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen joined the grid, and almost immediately threw a wrench into the championship as he collided his BMW GTP into the championship contenders at Williams Esports Chillblast. The contact allowed for the championship-contending BMW M Team Redline crew to take control of the race. However, a costly pit road penalty took them back out of the equation, and put Williams Esports back in, as they were able to finish well enough to claim the title as another BMW M Team, BS+COMPETITION, claimed the GTP win.

Over in the GTD ranks, it was Team Redline again, with the No. 171 Ferrari, going up against the No. 118 AO Racing by Porsche crew, their livery better known as “Rexy” in both real-world and last year’s virtual competition. Rexy had the qualifying advantage, but Redline had the outright pace, catching and passing the virtual dinosaur car before it was all said and done to claim the title. The Mercedes-AMG Team ART entry was victorious in the race itself.

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TRACK FACTS

Known as “The World Center of Racing”, Daytona International Speedway has a deep history in many facets of American motorsport, from NASCAR and their annual Daytona 500 to IMSA and their 24-hour battle for the Rolex 24. This track also hosts Bike Week’s Daytona 200, Daytona Supercross, Daytona KartWeek between Christmas and New Years, and a host of driving school, club, and other events. While the oval boasts 2.5-miles of intense, high-speed action, the road course that traverses the infield measures at 3.56-miles and incorporates most of the banked oval.

For more information on the IMSA Esports Global Championship, visit iracing.com/imsa-esports.

For more information about the Virtual Competition Organisation (VCO), visit vco-esports.com.

For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit iracing.com.

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